Estimating affective response to a token instance of interest utilizing attention levels received from an external source

ABSTRACT

A user may be exposed to multiple token instances representing stimuli that may influence the affective state of the user. Described herein are embodiments of systems, method, and computer programs for estimating affective response to a token instance of interest, selected from among the token instances. The token instance of interest is selected based on attention levels received from an external source such as, information received from other users, information received from analysis of communications of the users, and/or information received from an external site such as an online retailer or a social network. In one example embodiment, the token instance of interest is a token instance for which attention level of the user is higher than at least one other token instance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/656,704, filed Oct. 20, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/549,218, filed Oct. 20, 2011.

BACKGROUND

People these days have a seemingly endless number of options when itcomes to interacting with the digital world. There is a virtuallyinfinite number of digital media objects and activities at theirfingertips such as videos, music, games, websites, and virtual worlds.In addition, the advances in computing make it possible to personalizedigital content for users, not only by bringing users specific contentof their liking (such as streaming music, videos, loading games, orvirtual worlds), but also generating content especially tailored totheir taste (e.g., by rendering specific images in videos or games).Such personalization makes it possible for each user to get the mostsuitable, enjoyable and effective content on demand. However, in orderto optimize and tune an experience to an individual user's liking, it isimportant to be able to discern the user's specific reaction to variousobjects and/or changes in specific details.

One of the main problems limiting widespread adoption of advancedpersonalization of digital experiences is the inadequacy of current userpreference modeling. While models of a user's implicit preferences canbe created by analysis of the user's digital footprint (e.g., visit towebsites, online purchases, or semantic analysis of usercorrespondences), they can typically only answer broad questionsregarding the user's preferences toward the entire content orexperience. For example, such models are able to provide answers tobroad questions like: Does the user like action videos or romanticcomedies? Does the user like cars? Similarly, analysis of the user'sexplicit preference indications (e.g., Facebook's “Like” or Google's“+1” buttons) only provides information on the user's feeling towardscontent items in their entirety (e.g., a website, a video clip, or abook purchased on Amazon).

One area in computer science, which has been showing tremendous progressin recent years, is affective computing. Advances in the area ofaffective computing are making it possible to continuously monitor auser's emotional state (also called affective response), using a widearray of sensors that measure physiological signals and/or behavioralques. As the technology advances and the systems used to measureaffective response are becoming cheaper, much smaller and morecomfortable to wear, affective computing is moving from laboratories today-to-day applications. However, even measuring a user's affectiveresponse, usually only provides indications of the user's attitude tothe content in its entirety, such as revealing the user's response to awhole viewed scene, or the last minute of game play.

The aforementioned methods fall short when it comes to understanding theuser's attitude towards specific details, which may be valuable foreffective personalization. These methods also fall short of answeringsimple questions such as, how does the user feel towards a specificcharacter in a game? Which villain elicits a stronger reaction in abattle scene? Would a user prefer that a presenter in an insuranceadvertisement be a man or a woman? Should that presenter be dressed incasual or formal attire? Should the sofa in the background be blue orbeige? Knowing such details can help make personalized content thatsuits a user's specific taste, which makes the content more engaging andlikeable.

Thus, there is a need to be able to discern specific details regarding auser's preferences in order to make more accurate user models andimprove content personalization for users.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The emergence ubiquitous computing, with sensors and computers beingembedded in clothing and accessories (e.g., bracelets), and evenimplanted in the human body, bring many opportunities for utilizingaffective computing systems to gain much better understanding of theuser's feelings and attitudes. Some of the disclosed embodimentsdescribe methods for learning the user's preferences towards specificdetails and/or objects such as characters, images, and/or sounds viewedby a user in video clips, games, and/or interaction with real and/orvirtual worlds (these details and objects are referred to as “tokeninstances”).

Some aspects of this disclosure rely on measuring user modalities (alsoreferred to as “user measurement channels”) in conjunction withalgorithms for identifying interesting objects to which the user paysattention (these are referred to as “token instances of interest”). Thechange in the user's affective response may be attributed, at least inpart, to the user's reaction to the token instances of interest. Bymonitoring the user over time, when exposed to different tokeninstances, it is possible to deduce how the user will react to futureexposures to different objects and in particular to compare the user'sreaction to different token instances (e.g., monster A vs. monster B ina video game, cats vs. dogs in a commercial). Optionally, thisinformation may be compiled into a library; thus making it possible tomodel a user's likes and dislikes and use that information topersonalize new content and/or experiences tailored for the user.

Some aspects of this disclosure include a memory coupled with aprocessor. The memory stores information relating to token instances towhich a user is exposed (e.g., stimuli such as images and/or sounds), aresponse of the user to the token instances, and information regardingattention of the user at that time. Optionally, the response may be anemotional response (e.g., predicted from models) and/or an affectiveresponse (e.g., measured values from one or more user measurementchannels). Optionally, the information regarding the attention of theuser may be predicted (e.g., a prediction made based on the tokeninstances) and/or measured (e.g., measurements obtained fromeye-tracking). The processor may process at least some of the storedinformation in order to determine which one or more of the stored tokensmay be considered a token instance of interest. In addition, theprocessor may compute the response of the user to a determined tokeninstance of interest. In some embodiments, the response of the user to atoken instance of interest may be expressed as an affective response interms of a value and/or change of value to a user measurement channel(e.g., a heart rate, spiking of an EEG signal). Additionally oralternatively, the response of the user to a token instance of interestmay be expressed as an affective response in terms an emotional stateand/or change to emotional state (e.g., happiness, becoming excited).

Some aspects of this disclosure involve determining the user's responseto token instances of interest by comparing a measured response of theuser when exposed to a certain content or experience, with the predictedresponse of the user when exposed to essentially the same scene orexperience without the token instances of interest; thus, the predictionis performed on what may be considered background token instances. Thedifference between the two values can be attributed (at least in part)to the user's response to the token instances of interest. By monitoringthe user over time, when exposed to different token instances, it ispossible to deduce how the user will react to future exposures todifferent objects and in particular to compare the user's reaction todifferent token instances (e.g., monster A vs. monster B in a videogame, cats vs. dogs in a commercial). Note that in some embodiments, itis not necessary to know which of the token instances are tokeninstances of interest, only knowledge of the background token instancesis required. Thus, the method is suitable for the task of detecting thepresence of novel or unexpected token instances to which the user paysattention and affect his/her response. Thus, after the detection of thepresence of such tokens, further effort (e.g., algorithmic or manualannotation) might be applied in order to identify which of the novelimages, sounds or effects should be labeled as token instances (and alsodetermine their unexpected effect on the user).

Some aspects of this disclosure may be especially suitable forcharacterizing the user's response to token instances in domains likevideo games and virtual worlds, since in such domains measurements ofthe user may be taken multiple times while experiencing in essentiallythe same, very similar, repetitive scenes or missions. This makes itpossible to train accurate situation-specific predictors of the user'sresponse for those cases. Therefore, any significant variation detectedbetween the predicted user's response to background tokens, and themeasured response to the full set of token instances (both backgroundand token instances of interest) may be indicative of the effect of theuser's exposure to the token instances of interest.

Some aspects of this disclosure involve systems that include a processorand a decomposer. The processor is configured to predict a user'sresponse to background token instances to which the user is exposed. Thedecomposer receives a measured response to the background tokeninstances and an additional token instance of interest. The decomposeralso estimates the response to the token instance of interest accordingto the difference between the measured response (that includes the tokeninstance of interest) and the predicted response (that does not includethe token instance of interest).

Some aspects of this disclosure involve receiving information on theattention level of the user in token instances to which the user isexposed. The information on the attention level may enable the selectionof a token instance of interest. A predictor may be used to predict theuser's response to the token instances without the token instance ofinterest. Comparing the user's predicted response to an actual responseof the user that was measured when the user was exposed to all of thetoken instances can enable the estimation of the user's response to thetoken instance of interest.

Some aspects of this disclosure involve measuring the user's affectiveresponse during numerous iterations the user has experiencingessentially the same scene (e.g., a visit to a website, and/or game playof a level). This enables accurate modeling of the user's typicalaffective response to the scene (and essentially similar variations ofit). Thus, if the user visits the same scene but with an additionalelement introduced that is not part of the typical scene (e.g., a newsound effect, a new character, and/or additional graphics), any changein the user's affective response can be attributed (at least in part) tothe user's reaction to the new introduced element

Some aspects of this disclosure involve a memory coupled to a processor.The memory stores response of a user to multiple variants of arepetitive scene and an additional response of the user to an additionalvariant of the scene that includes a specific token instance that is notincluded in the other variants. The processor utilizes the informationstored in the memory to estimate the response of the user to thespecific token instance.

Some aspects of this disclosure involve a memory coupled to a processor.The memory stores response of a user to multiple variants of arepetitive scene and an additional response of the user to an additionalvariant of the scene that lacks a certain token instance. The processorutilizes the information stored in the memory to estimate the responseof the user to the certain token instance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments are herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system that identifies as token instance ofinterest and estimates the response to it;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram for identifying a token instance ofinterest and estimating the response to it;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system that estimates a response to a tokeninstance of interest from measurements and a predicted response to thebackground;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram for estimating a response to a tokeninstance of interest from measurements and a predicted response to thebackground;

FIG. 5 illustrates a system in which a processor estimates a response toa token instance of interest from measurements and a received predictedresponse to the background;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram for estimating a response to a tokeninstance of interest from measurements and a received predicted responseto the background;

FIG. 7 illustrates a system that selects a token instance of interestand estimates the response to it utilizing a predicted response to thebackground;

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram for selecting a token instance ofinterest and estimating the response to it utilizing a predictedresponse to the background;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram for estimating the response to atoken instance that is added to a variant of a repetitive scene;

FIG. 10 illustrates a system that estimates the response to a tokeninstance that is added to a variant of a repetitive scene;

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram for estimating the response to atoken instance in a repetitive scene by utilizing the response to avariant of the scene that lacks the token instance; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a system that estimates the response to a tokeninstance in a repetitive scene by utilizing the response to a variant ofthe scene that lacks the token instance.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some embodiment, the system processes user measurement channelsand/or tokens. The user measurement channels are data obtained frommonitoring a user. The tokens may include one or more of the followingtypes of data pertaining to: (i) the sensual stimuli to which the useris exposed, (ii) the user's cognitive condition, (iii) the user'ssituation, and/or (iv) the user's physiological condition. More detailedand comprehensive explanations about different types of data collectedand processed by some of the disclosed embodiments are provided below.

The term “affective response”, which may also be referred to as“affect”, describes an entity's emotional state (for example a humanbeings emotional state). Affective response may also describe thephysiological and/or behavioral manifestation of an entity's emotionalstate, for example as observed or measured via user measurementchannels. The terms “affective response/state” and “emotionalresponse/state” may be used herein interchangeably, but usually theaffective response is derived from measurements or observations, whilethe emotional state is predicted from models.

The term “user measurement channels”, or the alternative form“measurement channels of the user”, refer to physiological measurementsand/or measurements of unsolicited behavioral cues of the user, whichmay be either raw measurements and/or processed measurements (e.g.,resulting from filtration, calibration, and/or feature extraction).Examples of physiological measurements include various types of signalstaken of the user's physiological state using sensors for physiologicalproperties, such as heart rate (HR), Blood-Volume Pulse (BVP), GalvanicSkin Response (GSR), Skin Temperature (ST), respiration,electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG),electromyography (EMG), Electrodermal Activity (EDA), and others.Examples of measurements of unsolicited behavioral cues of the userinclude measurements derived from one or more cameras (e.g., detectingbody gestures, facial expressions, microexpressions), microphones (e.g.,detecting vocal cues, analysis of user's unsolicited speech), movementsensors, acoustic sensors, and/or pressure sensors. The usermeasurements may utilize various existing, and/or yet to be invented,sensors and measurement devices that may be attached to the body,clothing (such as gloves, shirts, helmets), implanted in the user'sbody, and/or remote sensors external to the user's body. It is notedthat the user measurement channels are often referred to in theliterature as “modalities”. In one embodiment, the user measurementchannels may be received by the system as raw data, and/or afterfiltration (e.g., noise cancellation), and/or after signal processing(e.g., after speech recognition, image analysis, and/or featureextraction from inputs like facial expression, microexpressions, audiosamples, user movements).

The user measurement channels do not include solicited feedback from theuser, such as (i) questions the user may answer to rate an experienceand/or activity (e.g., eBay seller feedback), (ii) a mechanism in whichthe user can actively provide a feedback, such as Facebook's “Like”button or Google's “+1” button, and/or (iii) a analysis of feedback inthe form of text or speech, that is provided by the user upon request,or at an agreed upon time or situation, such as at the end of a videoclip, or after prompting the user (e.g., by asking a question such as“how did you feel about that?”). One of the properties that distinguishbetween solicited and unsolicited feedback is that with solicitedfeedback the system can usually determine when the feedback is given andthe object that is the target of the feedback, while with unsolicitedfeedback this information may need to be inferred, and thus usuallyrequires additional steps.

The term “token” refers to a thing that has a potential to influence theuser's affective response. Optionally, tokens may be categorizedaccording to their source with respect to the user: external or internaltokens. In one embodiment, the tokens may include one or more of thefollowing:

(i) Information referring to a sensual stimulus or a group of sensualstimuli that may be experienced or sensed by the user. These tokensusually have a specified source such as objects or systems in the user'svicinity or that the user is interacting with in some way, such asdigital or printed media, augmented reality devices, robotic systems,food, and/or beverages. For example, a token may be an item (e.g. car),a movie genre (e.g., “comedy”), a type of image (e.g., “image ofperson”); a specific character (e.g., “Taco Bell Chihuahua”); web-site(e.g., “Facebook”); Scents or fragrances (e.g., “Chanel no. 5”); aflavor (e.g., “salty”), a physical sensation (e.g., “pressure on theback”).

(ii) Properties or values derived from a stimulus or group of stimuli.For example, the rate in which scenes change in a movie; the soundenergy level; the font-size in a web-page; the level of civility inwhich a robot conducts its interaction with a user.

(iii) Information about the environmental conditions that may influencethe user's affective response. For example, a token may refer to theuser's location (e.g., home vs. outdoors), the time of day, lighting,general noise level, temperature, humidity, speed (for instance, whentraveling in a car).

(iv) Information about the user's physiological and/or cognitive state.For example, the user's estimated physical and/or mental health, theuser's estimated mood and/or disposition, the user's level of alertnessand/or intoxication.

A token and/or a combination of tokens may represent a situation that ifthe user becomes aware of it, is expected to change the user's affectiveresponse to certain stimuli. In one example, monitoring the user over along period, and in diverse combinations of day-to-day tokensrepresenting different situations, reveals variations in the affectiveresponse that are situation-dependent, which may not be revealed whenmonitoring the user over a short period or in a narrow set of similarsituations. Examples of different situations may involve factors suchas: presence of other people in the vicinity of the user (e.g., beingalone may be a different situation than being with company), the user'smood (e.g., the user being depressed may be considered a differentsituation than the user being happy), the type of activity the user isdoing at the time (e.g., watching a movie, participating in a meeting,driving a car, may all be different situations). In some examples,different situations may be characterized in one or more of thefollowing ways: (a) the user exhibits a noticeably different affectiveresponse to some of the token instances, (b) the user is exposed tosignificantly different subsets of tokens, (c) the user has a noticeablydifferent user emotional state baseline value, (d) the user has anoticeably different user measurement channel baseline value, and/or (e)samples derived from temporal windows of token instances are clustered,and samples falling into the same cluster are assumed to belong to thesame situation, while samples that fall in different clusters areassumed to belong to different situations.

The term “token instance” refers to the manifestation of a token duringa defined period of time and/or event. The relationship between a tokenand its instantiation (i.e., the token instance) is somewhat similar tothe relationship between a class and its object in a programminglanguage. For example, a movie the user is watching is an instance ofthe token “movie” or the token “The Blues Brothers Movie”; an image of asoda can viewed through a virtual reality enabled device is a tokeninstance of “soda can”; the sound of the soda can opening in anaugmented reality video clip played when viewing the can may beconsidered a token instance of “soda can popping sound”; the scent ofChanel 5 that the user smelt in a department store while shopping for apresent is an instance of the token “perfume scent”, or a more specifictoken may be “scent of Chanel no. 5”; the temperature in the room wherethe user is sitting may be considered an instance of the token“temperature is above 78 F”; the indication that the user sitting alonein the room is an instance of the token “being alone”, and theindication that the user is suffering from the flu may be considered aninstance of the token “sick”.

The term “exposure” in the context of a user being exposed to tokeninstances means that the user is in a position to process and/or beinfluenced by the token instances, be they of any source or type.

The response of a user to token instances may refer to the affectiveresponse of the user to being exposed to the token instances.Optionally, response may be expressed as a value, and/or a change to avalue, of a user measurement channel Additionally or alternatively, theresponse may be expressed as a value, and/or a change to a value, of anemotional state.

The term “token source” refers to an element that influences the user'saffective state via the user's exposure to the element's tokeninstances. The token instances may be generated by the token source(e.g., a robot providing token instances describing its operations), bythe system (e.g., the system performs semantic analysis to a voiceconversation), and/or received from a third party (e.g., the systemaccesses token instance repository for multimedia the user was exposedto). The term “distinct token sources” refers to token sources that areboth distinguishable from the user's perspective and operate essentiallyindependently. For example, a massage robot, a television, and a wordprocessing software operating simultaneously are distinct token sources,while audio and video stimuli generated by a computer game areconsidered as originating from the same token source. In one embodiment,a token instance may be associated with one or more sources. Optionally,a token instance without a defined token source may be attributed to anarbitrary token source, such as the environment.

The term “temporal window of token instances”, also referred to as“window”, refers to a set of token instances and other optional values,which correspond to a temporal scope defined by the window. In oneexample, the window may contain token instances for which at least someportion of their existence took place within the temporal scope thatdefines the window. In another example, the temporal window of tokeninstances is a snapshot of the token instances that existed in aspecific time point. Optionally, the window may have a fixed duration.Optionally, the window may have a variable length, for example spanninga certain event, such as the user's viewing of a commercial, visiting aweb site, interacting with a robot, or reading an article. Optionally,the window may include values other than token instances derived fromother sources such as user measurement channels.

Deciding which token instances belong to a temporal window of tokeninstances may be arbitrary. For example, a system may decide thatcertain images the user is exposed to in a video clip are described bytoken instances, while others may be left without incorporating tokeninstances associated with them into the temporal window of tokeninstances.

When a user is exposed to a temporal window of token instances, it meansthat the user is exposed to the token instances that belong to thetemporal window of token instances. Similarly, a user's response to atemporal window of token instances is the response of the user to thetoken instances that belong to the temporal window of token instances.

In one embodiment, any group of token instances that occur within acertain temporal scope may be considered a temporal window of tokeninstances that corresponds to the certain temporal scope.

In some embodiments, “target value” describes the result of applying amachine learning prediction algorithm to an input instance. The targetvalue may be represented by a state, a category, and/or a measurement.Optionally, a target value may be associated with a temporal window oftoken instances or with one or more token instances. For example, atarget value may be an emotional state prediction of the user, or avalue derived from the user measurement channels. Optionally, the targetvalue may be represented by discrete categories, a univariate value, ora point in a multidimensional space. In one example, the target valuerepresents a transition between two categorical states. In anotherexample, the target value represents the difference between the user'sstates at times corresponding to the end and beginning of a temporalwindow of token instances. In still another example, the target valuerepresents an average value of a variable computed over the values ofthe variable during the time covered by a temporal window of tokeninstances.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a token instance of interest 430. The systemincludes at least a memory 426 and a processor 428.

The memory 426 is configured to store token instances 420 to which theuser is exposed. The memory 426 is also configured to store a totalresponse 422 of the user to the token instances 420.

In addition, the memory 426 is configured to store at least tworespective representations of attention level 424 of the user in atleast two of the token instances. Optionally, each of the two respectiverepresentations enables an assignment of an interest level in one of thetoken instances. Additionally, the at least two token instances haveoverlapping instantiation periods (i.e., there is a time during whichthe user is simultaneously exposed to the two token instances).

The processor 428 is configured to select the token instance of interest430 from among the at least two of the token instances based on therepresentations of attention level 424. The processor 428 is alsoconfigured to estimate the response to the token instance of interest432 from the total response of the user to the token instances 422.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a user'sresponse to a token instance of interest. The method includes thefollowing steps:

In step 400, receiving token instances to which the user was exposedduring a certain duration. Optionally, the token instances may belong toa certain temporal window of token instances that spans the certainduration.

In step 401, receiving a total response of the user to the tokeninstances.

In one embodiment, the total response of the user is derived frommeasurements of the user taken with a sensor. Optionally, valuesrepresenting the total response of the user are expressed as anaffective response in terms of values of a user measurement channeland/or changes to values of a user measurement channel. Optionally,values representing the total response of the user are expressed as anaffective response that may be emotional state and/or change to anemotional state.

In step 402, receiving at least two representations of attention levelrepresenting the user's attention in at least two of the tokeninstances. The at least two token instances have overlappinginstantiation periods (i.e., there is a time during which the user issimultaneously exposed to both token instances). Optionally, therepresentations of attention levels may be used to assign at least oneof the at least two token instances with an attention level (e.g., arelative or absolute value representing the attention in the tokeninstance).

In step 403, selecting a token instance of interest from among the atleast two token instances according to the attention level values.Optionally, the token instance of interest is selected as the tokeninstance for which the attention level is highest.

And in step 404, estimating the response to the token instance ofinterest from the total response of the user to the token instances.

In one embodiment, the received token instances correspond to varioustypes of entities, e.g., images, plot elements, semantic meanings,sounds, sensations, flavors, temperatures, and/or the user's situation.Optionally, the received token instances originate from multipledistinct sources. For example, tokens from a server describing digitalcontent the user is viewing and tokens from a computerized system linkedto video cameras that describe the people in the user's vicinity.Optionally, received token instances are detected by the user usingessentially different sensory pathways. For example, some of thereceived token instances describe images the user saw and are detectedand processed by the user's visual sensory pathway, while other receivedtoken instances correspond to sounds heard by the user (possibly at thesame time the images were seen), and are detected and processed by theuser's auditory sensual pathway. Optionally, at least some of the tokeninstances to which the user was exposed during the time frame arereceived in the form of temporal windows of token instances to which.

In one embodiment, the token instances that are received may belong to acertain temporal window of token instances that spans a certainduration. Optionally, the certain duration is essentially a fixedduration, for example 10 seconds. Alternatively, the certain durationmay have a variable length that corresponds to certain objects orevents, such as the length of a scene in a movie, a video clip, or thetime required to complete a mission or play through a level in a game.Additionally or alternatively, the certain duration may correspond tothe relative time needed to detect a change in a user measurementchannel. For example, a duration suitable for detecting a change inheart rate signals might last a few seconds, while a duration suitablefor detecting change in skin temperature measurements might spanminutes.

In one embodiment, the total response is a measured response, i.e., itis derived from measurements of the user. Alternatively or additionally,the total response may be a predicted response, i.e., it is derived withthe aid of a predicting algorithm, such as machine learning-trainedpredictor.

In one embodiment, the total response is a based on affective responsevalues such as emotional response values. For example, the totalresponse is computed to be the difference between an emotional state ofthe user before and after being exposed to the token instances (e.g.,the difference in the degree of excitement of the user before and afterthe exposure).

In one embodiment, the total response is based on values of a usermeasurement channel of the user. For example, the total response may becomputed from physiological values of the user such as a heart rate orbrainwave signals measured with EEG.

In one embodiment, the total response is proportional to differencebetween the responses of the user before and after the user was exposedto the token instances. For example, the response may be expressed as achange in the heart rate of the user as determined by heart ratemeasurements taken before and after the exposure to the token instances.

In one embodiment, computing the total response involves receiving abaseline value for the user's response. The computation of the totalresponse due to the user's exposure to the token instances maybe donewith adjustments with respect to the baseline value. For example, theuser's total response may include a heart rate value which is thedifference between heart rate measurements before and after exposure totoken instances. This computation can also take into account thedistance of values from the baseline value. Thus, for example, part ofthe difference between the measurement values before and after theexposure may be attributed to the heart rate returning to the baselinevalue.

In one embodiment, the response to the token instance of interest is theresponse of the user to the token instance of interest. For example, theresponse to the token instance of interest is derived from a totalresponse that was based on measurements of the user or on a predictionmade from a model of the user (e.g., the model was trained on trainingdata that includes measurements of the user). Additionally oralternatively, the response to the token instance of interest may beconsidered a response of a general and/or representative user. Forexample, the response to the token instance of interest is derived froma total response is based on a prediction of a general model (trainedmostly on data that does not involve the user).

In one embodiment, the representations of attention level are derivedfrom a measurement channel of the user. For example, for visual tokeninstances (e.g., images of objects), the representations of attentionlevel may be derived from a camera and eye-tracking software that tracksthe gaze of the user. Attention level of the user in a visual tokeninstance (e.g., image of a dog) may be expressed as the proportion oftime the user spends staring at the object.

In another embodiment, the representations of attention level arepredicted based on the token instances. For example, for visual tokeninstances, the representation of attention levels may be from analgorithm that predicts levels of interest in objects and/or in regionsof an image. Attention level of the user in a token instance may beexpressed as the predicted level of interest in the token instanceand/or the region in the visual field in which the token instanceresides.

In one embodiment, multiple token instances of interest may be selectedfrom among the received token instances. Optionally, less than half ofthe token instances are considered to be the token instances ofinterest. Optionally, at most one token instance at a time is consideredto be the token instance of interest, i.e., the token instances ofinterest do not have overlapping instantiation periods.

In one embodiment, estimating the response to the token instance ofinterest from the total response involves attributing a portion of thetotal response to the token instance of interest. In one example, morethan 50% of the total response may be attributed to the response to thetoken instance of interest. Thus, if the total response is an increaseof 10% to the heart rate, then the response to the token instance ofinterest is an increase of more than 5% to the heart rate. In anotherexample, more than 90% of the total response is attributed to theresponse to the token instance of interest. In still another example,essentially all of the total response is attributed to the response tothe token instance of interest, i.e., the response to the token instanceof interest essentially equals the total response.

In one embodiment, estimating the response to the token instance ofinterest from the total response takes into consideration properties ofthe token instance of interest. For example, the portion of the totalresponse that may be attributed to the token instance of interest maydepend on properties such as the relative amount of time the user isexposed to the token instance of interest and/or the level of attentionthe user pays to the token instance of interest. Thus, if the user isexposed to the token instance of interest for a relatively short while,and/or the user pays relatively little attention to the token instanceof interest, the estimated response to the token instance of interestmay be relatively weak; for instance, only a small portion of the totalresponse (e.g., 10%) is attributed to the response to the token instanceof interest. However, if the user is exposed to the token instance for arelatively long time, and/or pays a lot of attention to the tokeninstance of interest, the response attributed to the token instance ofinterest may be relatively higher, e.g., 90% of the total response.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a token instance of interest. The system includesat least a processor 804 and a decomposer 809. Optionally, the processor804 and the decomposer are realized in the same device. Optionally, theprocessor 804 provides the functionality of the decomposer 809. Forexample, the decomposer 809 is realized via a program that runs on theprocessor 804.

The processor 804 is configured to receive a background token instance802 to which the user was exposed. Optionally, the processor 804 mayreceive additional token instances. The processor 804 is also configuredto predict a response 806 due to exposure to the background tokeninstance. Optionally, the predicted response 806 is a response to beingexposed to the background token instance 802 and possibly to other tokeninstances that do not include the token instance of interest.

The decomposer 809 is configured to receive a measured response 808 ofthe user due to simultaneous exposure to both the background tokeninstance 802 and the token instance of interest, and to estimateresponse of the user to the token instance of interest 810 based on thedifference between the predicted response 806 and the measured response808. For example, the predicted response 806 is subtracted from themeasured response 808, and the difference is attributed to the responseto the token instance of interest 810.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a user'sresponse to a token instance of interest. The method includes thefollowing steps:

In step 820, receiving token instances to which the user was exposedduring a certain duration. The received token instances include a tokeninstance that is considered a background token instance. Optionally, thetoken instances include multiple background token instances. Optionally,at least some of the background token instances have overlappinginstantiation periods, i.e., there are times in which the user isexposed to more than one background token simultaneously.

In step 821, predicting response due to exposure to the background tokeninstance. Optionally, predicting the response is done utilizing amachine learning-based predictor that is given an input that includesthe background token instance or is derived, at least in part, from thebackground token instance. For example, the input to the predictor is avector with a least one dimension whose value is set according to thebackground token instance.

In step 822, receiving a measured response of the user due to exposureto token instances comprising both the background token instance and thetoken instance of interest.

And in step 823, estimating response of the user to the token instanceof interest based on difference between the predicted response and themeasured response. For example, the predicted response is subtractedfrom the measured response, and the difference is attributed to theresponse to the token instance of interest.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a token instance of interest. The system includesat least a processor 844.

The processor 844 is configured to receive a measured response 840 ofthe user due to exposure to token instances that include a backgroundtoken instance and the token instance of interest. The processor 844 isalso configured to receive a predicted response 842 due to exposure tothe background token instance. From these inputs, the processor 844 isfurther configured to estimate the response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest 846 based on the difference between the predictedresponse 842 and the measured response 840.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a user'sresponse to a token instance of interest. The method includes thefollowing steps:

In step 850, receiving a measured response of the user due to exposureto token instances comprising a background token instance and the tokeninstance of interest. Optionally, the background token instance and thetoken instance of interest have overlapping instantiation periods, i.e.,there are times in which the user is simultaneously exposed to both thetoken instance of interest and the background token instance.

In step 851, receiving a predicted response due to exposure to thebackground token instance. Optionally, the predicted response isobtained utilizing a machine learning-based predictor that is given aninput that includes the background token instance or is derived, atleast in part, from the background token instance. For example, theinput to the predictor is a vector with a least one dimension whosevalue is set according to the background token instance.

And in step 852, estimating response of the user to the token instanceof interest based on difference between the predicted response and themeasured response. For example, the predicted response is subtractedfrom the measured response, and the difference is attributed to theresponse to the token instance of interest.

In one embodiment, a background token instance is a token instance thattypically does not command user's attention to a large extent. Duringthe time a user is exposed to a background token instance, the user isexposed to at least one more token instance (e.g., the token instance ofinterest) that is more likely to capture the user's attention than thebackground token instance. In one example, the token instance ofinterest is the main character in a video clip or game scene, and abackground token instance may be a token instance corresponding to aminor characters appearing at the same time as the main character, atoken instance corresponding to the background of the scene (e.g., thecolor of the room), and/or a token instance corresponding to the type ofbackground music.

In one embodiment, a machine learning-based predictor is utilized toproduce the predicted response. Optionally, the machine learning-basedpredictor is for the response of the user, e.g., the predictor isadapted to the user, such as being trained on training data thatinvolves the user. Optionally, the machine learning-based predictor istrained on data collected over a long period, in which the user was indifferent situations. Optionally, values representing the predictedresponse of the user are given as an affective response in terms ofvalues of a user measurement channel and/or changes to values of a usermeasurement channel. Optionally, values representing the predictedresponse of the user are given as an affective response, which may be anemotional state and/or a change to an emotional state.

In one embodiment, the measured response is derived from measurements ofthe user (e.g., taken with a sensor). Optionally, values representingthe measured response of the user are given as an affective response interms of values of a user measurement channel and/or changes to valuesof a user measurement channel. Optionally, values representing themeasured response of the user are given as an affective response, whichmay be emotional state and/or change to an emotional state.

In one embodiment, the response to the token instance of interest is theresponse of the user to the token instance of interest. Additionally oralternatively, the response to the token instance of interest isconsidered a response of a general and/or representative user (e.g., theresponse is considered a generic response to the token instance ofinterest). Optionally, the response to the token instance of interestequals essentially the predicted response subtracted from the measuredresponse.

In one embodiment, the background token instance belongs to a temporalwindow of token instances that is provided to the processor. Thetemporal window of token instances does not include the token instanceof interest. The processor predicts the response by providing thetemporal window of token instances to a machine learning-based predictorthat predicts the response to the temporal window of token instances.Optionally, a collaborative filtering model for predicting the user'sresponse to temporal windows of token instances is creating by usingmeasured responses of other users to temporal windows of tokeninstances. Optionally, the background token instance, and possibly othertoken instances that do not include the token instance of interest, areprovided to a predictor that receives a stream of token instances asinput.

In one example, the temporal window that includes the background tokeninstance is generated by a video game graphics engine in whichessentially all objects and characters are rendered, except for the leadcharacter (operated by the user) and the lead virtual villain that theuser's character must confront. The temporal window of token instancesincludes token instances extracted from the rendered by the video game.In another example, the temporal window of background token instances isgenerated by extracting token instances from a musical sequence withoutvocals or singing.

In one embodiment, the machine learning-based predictor for the user'sresponse is trained on data collected over a long period, in which theuser was in different situations. In another example, the machinelearning-based predictor for the user's response is trained on samplesincluding data of previous instantiations of token instances in order tocreate a habituation compensating machine learning-based predictor forthe user's response due to the user's exposure to the background tokeninstances.

In one embodiment, the predicted value of the user's response due to theuser's exposure to the background token instance is calculated byselecting a machine learning-based predictor for the user's responseappropriate to a situation the user is in from among at least twomachine learning-based predictors for the user's response. Optionally,each of the machine learning-based predictors was trained on datacollected from periods of time in which the user was in a situationbelonging to a distinct set of situations specific to that machinelearning-based predictor. Thus, the set of predictors comprises a set ofsituation-specific predictors, capable in some cases of producing moreaccurate situation-specific predictions.

In one embodiment, the predicted response levels are computed withrespect to a received baseline value that is provided to the predictorsas an additional input (e.g., a baseline value of a user measurementchannel).

In one embodiment, the token instance of interest may be a tokeninstance for which measured attention level of the user is highest. Forexample, of the visual token instances to which the user is exposed, thetoken instance of interest is the one that eye-tracking determines thatthe user spent the most timing looking at. Alternatively oradditionally, the token instance of interest may be a token instance forwhich predicted attention level is the highest. For example, the tokeninstance of interest may be one that a model predicts is most likely tocause a user to stare at.

In one embodiment, the response of a user to the token instance ofinterest is estimated based on the difference between the predictedresponse and the measured response. For example, the response to thetoken instance of interest essentially equals the difference between thevalue (e.g., heart rate) of the predicted response (which is a responseto the background token instance), and the measured response (which is aresponse to both the background token instance and the token instance ofinterest). Optionally, the difference is computed by subtracting thevalue of the predicted response from the value of the measured response.Alternatively, the response to the token instance of interest may beproportional to the difference, and depend on properties related to thetoken instance of interest. For example, the portion of the differencethat is attributed to the response to the token instance of interest maybe proportional to how much attention the user pays to the tokeninstance of interest, and/or how long the user is exposed to the tokeninstance of interest; the more the user pays attention and/or the morethe user is exposed, the larger the portion of the difference isattributed to the token instance of interest.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a token instance of interest. The system includesat least a token instance remover 862, a predictor of user response 863,and decomposer 866.

The token instance remover 862 is configured to receive a temporalwindow of token instances 860 and information regarding attention level861. Optionally, the information regarding attention level 861 is theattention level of the user (e.g., as measured using eye-tracking).Additionally, or alternatively, the attention level 861 may be predictedfrom models. The attention level 861 provides information on theattention paid by the user to at least one of the token instancesbelonging to the window 860.

The token instance remover 862 is further configured to utilize theattention level 861 to select a token instance of interest from amongthe token instances belonging to the window, and remove the tokeninstance of interest from the temporal window of token instances 860.

The predictor of user response 863 is configured to receive the temporalwindow of token instances from which the token instance of interest wasremoved and predict a response to being exposed to the temporal windowof token instances without the token instance of interest.

The decomposer 866 is configured to receive a measured response 864 ofthe user due being exposed to the temporal window of token instances860. The decomposer is further configured to estimate the user'sresponse to the token instance of interest 865 based on the differencebetween the predicted response to being exposed to the temporal windowof token instances without the token of interest and the measuredresponse 864.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a responseof a user e to a token instance of interest. The method includes thefollowing steps:

In step 870, receiving a temporal window of token instances thatincludes a plurality of token instances, to which the user is exposed.At least two of the token instances have overlapping instantiationperiods.

In step 871, receiving a measured response of the user due to the userbeing exposed to the temporal window of token instances (the window towhich the user is exposed includes all the token instances).

In step 872, receiving attention level of the user in at least one ofthe token instances.

In step 873, using the attention level for selecting the token instanceof interest from among the token instances. Optionally, most of thetoken instances are not of interest to the user, e.g., they arebackground token instances that are not considered to be the tokeninstance of interest; less than a third of the token instances areconsidered to be of interest to the user.

In step 874, removing the token instance of interest from the temporalwindow of token instances. In step 875, predicting response of the userdue to exposure to the temporal window of token instances from which thetoken instance of interest was removed.

And in step 876, estimating the response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest from the difference between the predicted responseand the measured response.

In one embodiment, a temporal window of token instances may berepresented as a vector of feature values. In such a case, removing thetoken instance of interest from the temporal window of token instancesmay involve changing the value of features that correspond to the tokeninstance of interest. For example, the token instance of interest mayhave features representing attributes such as the weight of the tokeninstance of interest, the size of the token instance of interest, and/orthe attention paid by the user to the token instance of interest. One ormore of these values may be set to essentially zero in order toessentially remove the token instance of interest from the temporalwindow of token instances.

In another embodiment, a temporal window of token instances may berepresented as a set of records corresponding to the token instancesbelonging to the window. In such a case, removing the token instance ofinterest from the temporal window of token instances may involveremoving one or more record corresponding to the token instance ofinterest from the set of records.

In one embodiment, the attention level information is derived from ameasurement channel of the user. For example, for visual token instances(e.g., images of objects), the attention level may be derived from acamera and eye-tracking software that tracks the gaze of the user.Alternatively or additionally, the attention level may be predictedbased on the token instances. For example, for visual token instances,the representation of attention levels may be obtained from an algorithmthat predicts levels of interest in objects and/or in regions of animage.

In one embodiment, a temporal window of token instances provided to apredictor in order to compute the user's response is created by usinginformation regarding a user's observed and/or predicted attention levelto one or more token instances. For example, if the temporal window oftoken instances provided to the predictor corresponds to a scene in agame or video, token instances corresponding to the main character maybe deleted in order to create a temporal window of token instancesdescribing the background of the scene. Optionally, the token instancewith the highest user attention level is removed from the temporalwindow of token instances. Optionally, a fraction of the token instancesis removed from the temporal window of token instances. For example, thetoken instances selected for removal comprise at most a third of all thetoken instances to which the user was exposed, and include the tokeninstances to which the user paid the most attention.

In one embodiment, removing a token instance of interest from a temporalwindow of token instances comprises setting the value of one or moreattribute values corresponding to the token instance of interest, suchas weight, attention level, and/or size. Optionally, the attribute valueis set to a very low value such as zero in order to indicate that thetoken instance has virtually no influence on the user. Optionally,removing a token instance of interest from a temporal window of tokeninstances comprises removing all data records and/or fieldscorresponding to the token instance of interest from the datarepresentation of the temporal window of token instances. In oneexample, a temporal window of token instances is represented as a listof records of the token instances to which the user is exposed, and thetoken instance of interest is removed from the list, producing a newshorter list of token instances.

In one embodiment, a machine learning-based predictor is utilized toproduce the predicted response. Optionally, the machine learning-basedpredictor is for the response of the user, e.g., the predictor isadapted to the user, such as being trained on training data thatinvolves the user. Optionally, the machine learning-based predictor istrained on data collected over a long period, in which the user was indifferent situations. Optionally, values representing the predictedresponse of the user are given as an affective response in terms ofvalues of a user measurement channel and/or changes to values of a usermeasurement channel. Optionally, values representing the predictedresponse of the user are given as an affective response, which may be anemotional state and/or a change to an emotional state.

In one embodiment, the measured response is derived from measurements ofthe user (e.g., taken with a sensor). Optionally, values representingthe measured response of the user are given as an affective response interms of values of a user measurement channel and/or changes to valuesof a user measurement channel. Optionally, values representing themeasured response of the user are given as an affective response, whichmay be emotional state and/or change to an emotional state.

In one embodiment, the response to the token instance of interest is theresponse of the user to the token instance of interest. Additionally oralternatively, the response to the token instance of interest isconsidered a response of a general and/or representative user (e.g., theresponse is considered a generic response to the token instance ofinterest). Optionally, the response to the token instance of interestequals essentially the predicted response subtracted from the measuredresponse.

In one embodiment, the machine learning-based predictor for the user'sresponse is trained on data collected over a long period, in which theuser was in different situations. In another example, the machinelearning-based predictor for the user's response is trained on samplesincluding data of previous instantiations of token instances in order tocreate a habituation compensating machine learning-based predictor forthe user's response due to the user's exposure to the background tokeninstances.

In one embodiment, the predicted value of the user's response due to theuser's exposure to the temporal window of token instances that does notinclude the token instance of interest is calculated by selecting amachine learning-based predictor for the user's response appropriate toa situation the user is in from among at least two machinelearning-based predictors for the user's response. Optionally, each ofthe machine learning-based predictors was trained on data collected fromperiods of time in which the user was in a situation belonging to adistinct set of situations specific to that machine learning-basedpredictor. Thus, the set of predictors comprises a set ofsituation-specific predictors, capable in some cases of producing moreaccurate situation-specific predictions.

In one embodiment, the token instance of interest may be a tokeninstance for which measured attention level of the user is highest. Forexample, of the visual token instances to which the user is exposed, thetoken instance of interest is the one that eye-tracking determines thatthe user spent the most timing looking at. Alternatively oradditionally, the token instance of interest may be a token instance forwhich predicted attention level is the highest. For example, the tokeninstance of interest may be one that a model predicts is most likely tocause a user to stare at it.

In one embodiment, the response of a user to the token instance ofinterest is estimated based on the difference between the predictedresponse and the measured response. For example, the response to thetoken instance of interest essentially equals the difference between thevalue (e.g., heart rate) of the predicted response (which is a responseto the background token instance), and the measured response (which is aresponse to both the background token instance and the token instance ofinterest). Optionally, the difference is computed by subtracting thevalue of the predicted response from the value of the measured response.Alternatively, the response to the token instance of interest may beproportional to the difference, and depend on properties related to thetoken instance of interest. For example, the portion of the differencethat is attributed to the response to the token instance of interest maybe proportional to how much attention the user pays to the tokeninstance of interest and/or how long the user is exposed to the tokeninstance of interest; the more the user pays attention and/or the morethe user is exposed, the larger the portion of the difference isattributed to the token instance of interest.

While interacting the physical and/or digital world, a user mayexperience similar events and/or stimuli multiple times (e.g., ascharacterized by the token instances the user is exposed to each time);such cases may be referred to as repetitive scenes. Repetitive scenesmay have various variants, which may differ on some of the details(e.g., in each variant some of the token instances may be differentand/or have different weights). However, the overall experience the userhas in each variant of the repetitive scene is relatively similar. Inone example, when playing the same computer game level multiple times(e.g., trying to clear a level), each time the level is played, thesequence of events or occurrences in game play is very similar;therefore, though there might be slight variations between eachrepetition of playing the level, the user's experience is quite similar(e.g., as defined via token instances to which the user is exposed eachtime). Thus, the different occurrences of playing the same level orscreen in a computer game can be considered variants of a repetitivescene. In another example, multiple visits to a website (e.g., a newssite, a virtual store, a social network), may be considered repetitivescenes. Since in each visit, the user may be exposed to similar content,a similar design of the site (fonts, color schemes, themes), and/ormight have a similar interaction with the site. In yet another example,repeatingly touring the same region in a virtual world may be considereda repetitive scene. For example, each time the user walks down the mainstreet of a virtual village, it may be considered a variant or arepetitive scene. Though in each visit, some details might be different(e.g., background music, the other characters that are present, and/orthe events that are taking place), the overall experience of eachvirtual walk may be similar.

Since the user's experience in repetitive scenes is often quite similar,differences in the user's response (e.g., emotional response and/orchange to values of measurement channels) may be attributed to thevariations between the variants of the repetitive scenes. By identifyingthe differences between the variants, such as a token instance thatappears in one variant but not in another, it is possible to gainunderstanding towards the user's response to the token instance.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a user'sresponse to a specific token instance in a variant of a repetitivescene. The method includes the following steps:

In step 880, receiving measurements of responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene. A specific token instancefor which the user's response is estimated does not appear in thevariants of repetitive scenes. For example, if the variants of therepetitive scenes may be described using temporal windows of tokeninstances, the specific token instance is not included in the windows orhas a weight of essentially zero in the windows.

In step 881, receiving another measurement of response of the user takenwhile the user is exposed to another variant of the repetitive scenethat includes the specific token instance. Optionally, the anothervariant includes a token instance having an overlapping instantiationperiod with the specific token instance, i.e., at least during some timethe user is exposed to the specific token instance the user is alsosimultaneously exposed to another token instance.

And in step 882, estimating the response of the user to the specifictoken instance based on difference between the other measurement and arepresentation of the measurements.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a specific token in a repetitive scene. The systemincludes at least a memory 892 and a processor 895.

The memory 890 is configured to receive measurements of responses takenat multiple exposures to variants of the repetitive scene. The specifictoken instance for which the user's response is estimated does notappear in the variants of repetitive scenes. For example, if thevariants of the repetitive scenes may be described using temporalwindows of token instances, the specific token instance is not includedin said windows or has a weight of essentially zero in those windows.The memory 890 is further configured to receive, from a measuring device893, another measurement of a response 891 of the user taken while theuser is exposed to another variant of the repetitive scene that includesthe specific token instance. Optionally, the another variant includes atoken instance having an overlapping instantiation period with thespecific token instance, i.e., at least during some time the user isexposed to the specific token instance the user is also simultaneouslyexposed to another token instance.

The processor 895 is configured to estimate the response of the user tothe specific token instance based on difference between the othermeasurement and a representation of the measurements.

In one example, the method for estimating a user's response to aspecific token instance in a variant of a repetitive scene characterizesthe user's response to token instances in domains like video games andvirtual worlds, since in such domains measurements of the user may betaken multiple times while experiencing essentially the same repetitivescenes/missions. In addition, since the content in such domains isgenerally created by computational processes, exact knowledge of whichelements are present in each scene is easily obtainable, thus making itpossible to accurately identify differences between various variants ofa repetitive scene. By coupling accurate knowledge of the differencebetween scenes with measurements of the user's response, the user'sresponse to specific added token instances might be deduced.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is given as ameasurement value, and the response of the user to the specific tokeninstance is obtained by essentially subtracting the value of therepresentation of the measurements from the other measurement.

Determining whether two scenes are variants of a repetitive scene may bedone in various ways:

1) Two variants may be considered variants of a repetitive scene if acertain portion of the token instances of both variants is the same.

In one embodiment, variants of scenes are represented by tokeninstances, and two variants may be considered variants of a repetitivescene if at least 50% of their token instances are essentially the same.For example, when each variant is represented as a temporal window oftoken instances, at least 50% of the token instances in the firstvariant also appear in the second variant. Alternatively oradditionally, the weight that is assigned to the token instancesbelonging to the first variant that also belong to the second variant isat least 50% of the weight assigned to token instances belonging to eachvariant.

2) Two variants may be considered variants of a repetitive scene if anordinary person is likely to declare that both variants are similar andare essentially two variants of a repetitive scene. For example, anexperiment is conducted in which a number of people are asked whetherthe two variants are similar. The proportion of peoples that answer thatthe two are variants of a repetitive scene may be interpreted as theprobability that the two are variants of the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if there is a probability of at least 20% that an ordinary userexposed to the two variants reports that the two are variants of arepetitive scene. Alternatively, a higher threshold may be used: In oneembodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitive sceneif there is a probability of at least 80% that an ordinary user exposedto the two variants reports that the two are variants of a repetitivescene.

3) Two variants are considered variants of a repetitive scene iflow-level features derived from the two variants are similar. Low-levelfeatures are typically concerned with general characteristics of thescene and not specific details. For example, low-level features ofimages may include features that are typically statistical in nature,such as average color, color moments, contrast-type textural feature,and edge histogram and Fourier transform based shape features. Inanother example, low-level auditory features may involve statisticsregarding the beat, tempo, pitch, and/or sound energy.

In one embodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if vectors containing the values of the low-level features of eachvariant are similar. For example, the vectors of the two variants of anormalized dot product of at least 0.3 (i.e., the cosine of the anglebetween the two vectors is at least 0.3).

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is essentiallyan average of the measurements of the responses taken at multipleexposures to the variants of the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is calculatedbased on the measurements of responses utilizing a predefined formula.For example, the representation of the measurements may be a weightedaverage assigning a higher weight to measurements corresponding tovariants to which the user was exposed to at later times (which are morelikely to represent the user's current response to the repetitivescene). In another example, the representation of measurements may becomputed by assigning a higher weight to variants for which there isevidence that the user was paying attention to the scene (e.g., byanalyzing results of eye-tracking of the user during the exposure).

In one embodiment, variants of the repetitive scene are stored astemporal windows of token instances, which are used to create trainingsamples. In addition, the responses to the variants, e.g., as determinedfrom affective response measurements, are also stored and used as targetvalues for the training sample. The training samples and target valuesare utilized to train a model for response of the user to variants ofthe repetitive scene. Optionally, the training is performed on theprocessor 895. Alternatively, the training is performed on a differentprocessor.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is obtained byproviding the prediction model with a temporal windows of tokeninstances corresponding to the variants of the repetitive scene, whichdoes not include the specific token instance. Thus the representation ofthe measurements may be determined without the need for receivingmeasurements of the user corresponding to the exposure to the variantsof the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, the specific token instance included in the variantof the repetitive scene does not significantly alter the essence of therepetitive scene compared to the other variants of the repetitive scenethat do not include the specific token instance. For example, thespecific token instance maybe related to the background of an eventoccurring in the scene or to a minor character. Thus if the specifictoken is removed or changed, it does not alter what is happening in thescene in a significant way.

In one embodiment, the other measurement is derived from multiplemeasurements of response of the user taken while the user was exposed tovariants of the repetitive scene that include the specific tokeninstance. For example, the other measurement may be an average valueobtained from measurements of variants of the repetitive scene thatinclude the specific token instance. Optionally, the measurements areweighted according to the weight of the specific token instance in eachvariant.

In one embodiment, the repetitive scene is generated by a computer game,and the specific token instance included in the repetitive scene doesnot significantly alter the game's plot compared to the other variantsof the repetitive scene that do not include the specific token instance.For example, the specific token instance may relate to the backgroundmusic, a specific sound effect, visual effect (e.g., extent ofexplosion), and/or a minor character with which the user does notsignificantly interact.

In one embodiment, the measurements of responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene are measurements ofresponses of the user taken at multiple exposures of the user tovariants of the repetitive scene. Alternatively, most of themeasurements of responses taken at multiple exposures to variants of therepetitive scene are measurements of responses of other users.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a method for estimating a responseof a user to a first token instance in a repetitive scene. The methodincludes the following steps:

In step 902, receiving measurements of responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene comprising the first tokeninstance and a second token instance.

In step 903, receiving another measurement of response of the user takenwhile the user is exposed to another variant of the repetitive scenethat lacks the first token instance that appeared in the repetitivescenes corresponding to the measurements. Optionally, the first tokeninstance and the second token instance have overlapping instantiationsperiods, i.e., there is a time in which the user is simultaneouslyexposed to both the first and the second token instances.

And in step 904, estimating the response of the user to the first tokeninstance based on difference between the other measurement and arepresentation of the measurements.

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a system configured to estimate aresponse of a user to a first token instance in a repetitive scene. Thesystem includes at least a memory 910 and a processor 916.

The memory 910 is configured to receive measurements of responses takenat multiple exposures to variants of the repetitive scene. For example,the measurements may be affective response measurements of the usertaken with a sensor.

The memory 910 is further configured to receive, from a measuring device912, another measurement of a response 914 of the user taken while theuser is exposed to another variant of the repetitive scene that lacksthe first token instance.

The processor 916 is configured to estimate the response of the user tothe specific token instance based on difference between the othermeasurement and a representation of the measurements.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is given as ameasurement value, and the response of the user to the first tokeninstance is obtained by essentially subtracting the value of the othermeasurement from the representation of the measurements.

Determining whether two scenes are variants of a repetitive scene may bedone in various ways:

1) Two variants may be considered variants of a repetitive scene if acertain portion of the token instances of both variants is the same.

In one embodiment, variants of scenes are represented by tokeninstances, and two variants may be considered variants of a repetitivescene if at least 50% of their token instances are essentially the same.For example, when each variant is represented as a temporal window oftoken instances, at least 50% of the token instances in the firstvariant also appear in the second variant. Alternatively oradditionally, the weight that is assigned to the token instancesbelonging to the first variant that also belong to the second variant isat least 50% of the weight assigned to token instances belonging to eachvariant.

2) Two variants may be considered variants of a repetitive scene if anordinary person is likely to declare that both variants are similar andare essentially two variants of a repetitive scene. For example, anexperiment is conducted in which a number of people are asked whetherthe two variants are similar. The proportion of peoples that answer thatthe two are variants of a repetitive scene may be interpreted as theprobability that the two are variants of the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if there is a probability of at least 20% that an ordinary userexposed to the two variants reports that the two are variants of arepetitive scene. Alternatively, a higher threshold may be used: In oneembodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitive sceneif there is a probability of at least 80% that an ordinary user exposedto the two variants reports that the two are variants of a repetitivescene.

3) Two variants are considered variants of a repetitive scene iflow-level features derived from the two variants are similar. Low-levelfeatures are typically concerned with general characteristics of thescene and not specific details. For example, low-level features ofimages may include features that are typically statistical in nature,such as average color, color moments, contrast-type textural feature,and edge histogram and Fourier transform based shape features. Inanother example, low-level auditory features may involve statisticsregarding the beat, tempo, pitch, and/or sound energy.

In one embodiment, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if vectors containing the values of the low-level features of eachvariant are similar. For example, the vectors of the two variants of anormalized dot product of at least 0.3 (i.e., the cosine of the anglebetween the two vectors is at least 0.3).

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is essentiallyan average of the measurements of the responses taken at multipleexposures to the variants of the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is calculatedbased on the measurements of responses utilizing a predefined formula.For example, the representation of the measurements may be a weightedaverage assigning a higher weight to measurements corresponding tovariants to which the user was exposed to at later times (which are morelikely to represent the user's current response to the repetitivescene). In another example, the representation of measurements may becomputed by assigning a higher weight to variants for which there isevidence that the user was paying attention to the scene (e.g., byanalyzing results of eye-tracking of the user during the exposure).

In one embodiment, variants of the repetitive scene are stored astemporal windows of token instances, which are used to create trainingsamples. In addition, the responses to the variants, e.g., as determinedfrom affective response measurements, are also stored and used as targetvalues for the training sample. The training samples and target valuesare utilized to train a model for response of the user to variants ofthe repetitive scene. Optionally, the training is performed on theprocessor 916. Alternatively, the training is performed on a differentprocessor.

In one embodiment, the representation of the measurements is obtained byproviding the prediction model with a temporal window of token instancescorresponding to the variants of the repetitive scene, which does notinclude the first token instance. Thus, the representation of themeasurements may be determined without the need for receivingmeasurements of the user corresponding to the exposure to the variantsof the repetitive scene.

In one embodiment, the first token instance lacking from the variant ofthe repetitive scene does not significantly alter the essence of therepetitive scene compared to the other variants of the repetitive scenethat do not lack the first token instance. For example, the first tokeninstance maybe related to the background of an event occurring in thescene or to a minor character. Thus if the first token is removed orchanged, it does not alter what is happening in the scene in asignificant way.

In one embodiment, the other measurement is derived from multiplemeasurements of response of the user taken while the user was exposed tovariants of the repetitive scene that lack the first token instance. Forexample, the other measurement may be an average value obtained frommeasurements of variants of the repetitive scene that lack the firsttoken instance.

In one embodiment, the measurements of responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene are measurements ofresponses of the user taken at multiple exposures of the user tovariants of the repetitive scene. Alternatively, most of themeasurements of responses taken at multiple exposures to variants of therepetitive scene are measurements of responses of other users.

Computing Affective Responses

As used herein, the term response, when used to refer to the response ofthe user (e.g., the response of the user to a token instance), refers toan affective response, which may be measured and/or predicted.Similarly, as used herein terms like “total response” refers to a totalaffective response.

In one embodiment, response such as a measured response or a predictedresponse are expressed as an absolute value. For example, a response maybe an increase of 5 beats per minute to the heart rate or an increase of2 points on a scale of arousal. Alternatively or additionally, aresponse may be expressed as a ratio (compared to an initial or baselinevalue). For example, the total response to being exposed to tokeninstances may be an increase of 10% to the heart rate compared to ameasurement taken before the exposure to token instances. Alternativelyor additionally, a response may be expressed as relative or qualitativechange. For example, a response may be paraphrased as the user beingslightly happier than his/her original state.

In one embodiment, the response of the user to being exposed to tokeninstances, e.g., a measured response or a predicted response, may becomputed by comparing an early response of with a response of the usercorresponding to a later time. For example, the early response maycorrespond to the beginning of the exposure, while the later responsemay correspond to the end of the exposure. Optionally, the response isobtained by subtracting the early response from the later response.Optionally, the total response is obtained by computing the rationbetween the later response and the early response (e.g., by dividing avalue of the later response by a value of the early response).

In one example, the total response may be expressed as a change in theuser's heart rate; it may be computed by subtracting a first heart ratevalue from a later second heart rate value, where the first value istaken in temporal proximity the beginning of the user's exposure to thereceived token instances while the later second value is taken intemporal proximity to the end of the user's exposure to the receivedtoken instances. In another example, the total response to the tokeninstances is computed by comparing emotional states corresponding to thebeginning and the end of the exposure to the token instances. Forexample, the total response may be the relative difference in the levelof happiness and/or excitement that the user is evaluated to be in(e.g., computed by dividing the level after the exposure to the tokeninstances by the level before the exposure to the token instances).

Herein, temporal proximity refers to closeness in time. Two events thatoccur in temporal proximity occur at times close to each other. Forexample, measurements of the user used that are taken at temporalproximity to the beginning of the exposure of the user to the tokeninstances, may be taken a few seconds before and/or possibly a fewseconds after the beginning of the exposure (some measurement channelssuch as GSR or skin temperature may change relatively slowly compared tofast changing measurement channel such as EEG). Similarly, measurementsof the user that are taken at temporal proximity to the beginning of theexposure of the user to the token instances may be taken a few secondsbefore and/or possibly a few seconds after the beginning of theexposure.

In one embodiment, responses used to compute the measured or predictedresponse to token instances may be a product of a single value. Forexample, a response corresponding to before the exposure to the tokeninstances may be a measurement value such as a single GSR measurementtaken before the exposure. Alternatively, responses used to compute themeasured or predicted response to token instances may be a product ofmultiple values. For example, a response may be average of user channelmeasurement values (e.g., heart rate, GSR) taken during the exposure tothe token instances. In another example, a response is a weightedaverage of values; for instance, user measurement values used to derivethe response may be weighted according to the attention of the user asmeasured at when the user measurements were taken.

In one embodiment, the response of the user to the token instances towhich the user is exposed is computed by comparing a response of theuser with a baseline value. Optionally, the baseline value may becomputed from measurements (e.g., the user's resting heart rate ascomputed over several hours). Additionally or alternatively, thebaseline value may be predicted such as a machine learning-trainedmodel. For example, such a model may be used to predict that in acertain situation such as playing a computer game, the user is typicallymildly excited. Optionally, the response may be computed by subtractinga baseline value from the measured response to being exposed to tokeninstances.

In one embodiment, computing a response involves receiving a baselinevalue for the user. The computation of the user's response maybe be donewith adjustments with respect to the baseline value. For example, theuser's response may be described as a degree of excitement that is thedifference between how excited the user was before and after beingexposed to the token instance. This computation can also take intoaccount the distance of values from the baseline value. Thus, forexample, if before the exposure to the token instances, the user was inan over-excited state (much above the baseline), and after the exposurethe user's excitement level was only slightly above the base line, partof the decline may be attributed to the user's natural return to abaseline level of excitement.

In one embodiment, the response of the user to a certain token instance(e.g., a token instance of interest) is estimated according to thedifference between two values, such as two measured responses, ameasured response and a representation of measurements, and/or ameasured response and a predicted response. Optionally, the differenceis obtained by subtracting one of the values from the other (e.g.subtracting the value of a measured response from the representation ofmeasurements). Optionally, the difference may be obtained using adistance function. For example, the difference between response valuesexpressed as multi-dimensional points may be given according to theEuclidean distance between the points. Additionally or alternatively,the difference between two multi-dimensional values may be expressed asa vector between the points representing the values.

In one embodiment, the estimated response to the certain token instancemay be derived from the value of the difference in addition to one ormore normalizations and/or adjustments according to various factors.

In one example, estimating the response of the user to the certain tokeninstance of interest takes into account the response that was determinedfor other users. Optionally, the other users have similar responses tothe user (e.g., they respond to many token instances in the same way).Thus, if in some cases, the user's response is significantly differentfrom the response other users have to the certain token instance, theuser's response may be normalized and set to be closer to the otherusers' response (e.g., by setting the user's response to be the averageof the other users' response and the user's originally estimatedresponse).

In another example, estimating the response of the user to the certaintoken instance may take into account a baseline value for the user. Ifthe user's initial state before being exposed to the certain tokeninstances is different from a received baseline value, then theestimated response may be corrected in order to account for a naturalreturn to the baseline. For example, if the user's response is describedvia a physiological measurement such as a change to the heart rate,estimating the response to the certain token instance needs to take intoaccount the rate at which the user's heart rate returns to the baselinevalue (which may happen within tens of seconds to a few minutes). Thus,for example an initial estimate of the response may show that theresponse to the certain token instance was not substantial (e.g., therewas very little change to the heart rate). However, if the user wasunexcited to begin with, then over the time the user's heart rate shoulddecrease to return to the baseline. However, if the heart rate did notreturn to the baseline at the expected rate, this can be attributed, atleast in part, to the user's response to the certain token instance;thus the estimation of the response may be amended in this case (e.g.,by increasing the value of the estimated response to account for thetendency to return to the baseline value).

In still another example, estimating the response of the user to thecertain token instance may take into account information regarding theother token instances the user was exposed at the time. In some cases,the user's attention may be focused on a single token instance or smallnumber of token instances at any given time (e.g., if the user islooking at details in an image). If there are many token instances towhich the user is exposed simultaneously, this can lead to saturation,in which due to the sensory overload, the user's response to individualtoken instances may be diminished. Thus, estimating the user's responseto the certain token instance may take into account corrections due tosaturation. For example, if the user is exposed to many token instancesat the same time, the original estimate of the response may be increaseto compensate for the fact that there were many token instancescompeting for the user's attention that may have distracted the userfrom the certain token instance.

Token Instances of Interest

In one embodiment, the attention level values representing the user'sattention in token instances are derived from a measurement channel ofthe user. For example, the attention levels are determined using videocameras, motion sensors, and/or eye-tracker to determine which imagesthe user was looking at and how long the user looked at each image.Optionally, the attention level assigned to token instancescorresponding to the images may be proportional to the time the userspent looking at each image. Additionally or alternatively, theattention level assigned to token instances corresponding to images maybe determined using algorithms for prediction of interest and/orsaliency in images and/or video sequences. Additionally oralternatively, the attention levels assigned to token instances may becomputed using heuristics, for example, by assigning a high predictedattention level to token instances corresponding to large images oftalking characters (which may be determined by algorithms for facerecognition and detection of movement of the lips), and assigning lowattention levels to token instances corresponding to inanimate objectsthat are not in the center of the frame.

In one embodiment, a token instance of interest is selected usingattention level information corresponding to one or more of the tokeninstances to which the user was exposed. Optionally, the attention leveldata is derived from measurements, such as user measurement channels.For example, attention level in some token instances may be computedusing eye tracking, movement sensors, and/or pressure sensors.Optionally, the attention level data is derived using models and/oralgorithms for predicting the user's attention level in some of thetokens.

In one embodiment, at some times at most one token instance is selectedas a token instance of interest. In one example, the token instance forwhich the user's predicted and/or measured attention level had a maximalvalue compared to the other token instances to which the user wasexposed at the corresponding time. In another example, the tokeninstance of interest is chosen to be the token instance for which theuser's integrated sum of attention levels is highest, compared to theother token instances of interest the user was exposed to during thecorresponding time period.

In one embodiment, various proportions of the total response may beattributed to the user's response to the token instance of interest. Forexample, 50% of the total response is attributed to the response to thetoken instance of interest. Optionally, most of the total response maybe attributed to the token instances of interest. For example, 90% ofthe total response is attributed to the token instance of interest. Inanother example, essentially the entire total response is attributed tothe user's response to the token instance of interest.

In one embodiment, at some times, multiple token instances may be chosento be token instances of interest. Optionally, token instances ofinterest may have overlapping periods of instantiation (i.e., there aretimes in which the user was simultaneously exposed to two or moretoken). Optionally, only a portion of token instances are consideredtoken instances of interest. For example, less than half of the tokeninstances are considered to be token instances of interest.

In one embodiment, token instances of interest may be selected accordingto various criteria. In one example, a certain number of token instancesfor which the user's predicted and/or measured attention levels werehighest are selected to be token instances of interest. In anotherexample, token instances for which the user's predicted and/or measuredattention levels exceed a certain threshold are selected to be tokeninstances of interest. In still yet another example, essentially alltoken instances are considered token instances of interest.

In cases in which there are multiple token instances of interest, thetotal response may be attributed to individual token instances ofinterest in different ways. For example, an equal proportion of thetotal response is attributed to each token instance of interest. Inanother example, the response to a token instance of interest isproportional to the attention level corresponding to the token instance.

User Measurements

In one embodiment, values from a user's user measurement channels arecollected by using one or more sensors and/or measurement devices thatmay be attached to the body, clothing (e.g., gloves, shirts, helmets),implanted in the user's body, and/or remote sensors external to theuser's body (e.g., camera, microphone).

In some embodiments, the duration in which the sensor operates in orderto measure the user's affective response may differ depending on one ormore of the following: (i) the type of content the user is exposed to,(ii) the type of physiological and/or behavioral signal being measured,and (iii) the type of sensor utilized for the measurement. In somecases, the user's affective response to token instances may be measuredby the sensor substantially continually throughout the period in whichthe user is exposed to the token instances. However, in other cases, theduration during which the user's affective response to the tokeninstances is measured need not necessarily overlap, or be entirelycontained in the time in which the user is exposed to the tokeninstances.

With some physiological signals, there is an inherent delay between thetime in which a stimulus occurs and changes the user's emotional state,and the time in which the corresponding affective response is observedvia a change in the physiological signal's measurement values. Forexample, an affective response comprising changes in skin temperaturemay take several seconds to be detected by a sensor. In addition, somephysiological signals may depart very rapidly from baseline values, buttake much longer to return to the baseline values.

In some cases, the physiological signal might change quickly because ofa stimulus, but returning to the pervious baseline value (from beforethe stimulus), may take much longer. For example, the heart rate of aperson viewing a movie in which there is a startling event may increasedramatically within a second; however, it can take tens of seconds andeven minutes for the person to calm down and for the heart rate returnto a baseline level.

The lag in time it takes affective response to be manifested in certainphysiological and/or behavioral signals can lead to it that the periodin which the affective response is measured occurs after the exposure tothe content. Thus, in some embodiments, measuring the affective responseof the user to the token instances may end, and possibly even start,essentially after the user is exposed to the token instances. Forexample, measuring the user's response to a surprising short scene in avideo clip (e.g., a gunshot lasting a second), may involve taking a GSRmeasurement a couple of seconds after the gunshot was played to theuser. In another example, the user's affective response to playing alevel in a computer game may include taking heart rate measurementslasting even minutes after the game play is completed.

In some embodiments, determining the user's affective response to thetoken instances may utilize measurement values corresponding to afraction of the time the user was exposed to the token instances. Theuser's affective response to the token instances may be measured byobtaining values of a physiological signal that is slow to change, suchas skin temperature, and/or slow to return to baseline values, such asheart rate. In such cases, measuring the user's affective response totoken instances does not have to involve continually measuring the userthroughout the duration in which the user is exposed to the tokeninstances. Since such physiological signals are slow to change,reasonably accurate conclusions regarding the user's affective responseto the token instances may be reached from samples of intermittentmeasurements taken at certain periods during the exposure (the valuescorresponding to times that are not included in the samples can besubstantially extrapolated). In one example, measuring the user'saffective response to playing a computer game involves takingmeasurements during short intervals spaced throughout the user'sexposure, such as taking a GSR measurement lasting two seconds, everyten seconds. In another example measuring the user's response to a videoclip with a GSR, heart rate and/or skin temperature sensor may involveoperating the sensor mostly during certain portions of the video clip,such as a ten-second period towards the end of the clip.

In some embodiments, determining the user's affective response to thetoken instances may involve measuring a physiological and/or behavioralsignal of the user before and/or after the user is exposed to the tokeninstances. Optionally, this is done in order to establish a baselinevalue for the signal to which measurement values of the user takenduring the exposure to the token instances, and/or shortly after theexposure, can be compared. For example, the user's heart rate may bemeasured intermittently throughout the duration, of possibly severalhours, in which the user plays a multi-player game. The values of thesemeasurements are used to determine a baseline value to whichmeasurements taken during a short battle in the game can be compared inorder to compute the user's affective response to the battle. In anotherexample, the user's brainwave activity is measured a few seconds beforedisplaying an exciting video clip and also while the clip is played tothe user. Both sets of values, the ones measured during the playing ofthe clip and the ones measured before it, are compared in order tocompute the user's affective response to the clip.

In one embodiment, some values of the user measurement channels arestored in a database as time series with short durations betweenconsecutive measurement points. Optionally, the user's measurementchannels are stored at different temporal resolutions, i.e., the typicaldifference in time between consecutive entries in the database may varybetween measurement channels. Optionally, the temporal resolution of thesame channel may vary at different points in database, for example,regions where low complexity in the measurement values is detectedand/or regions with noisy measurements may be stored with lower temporalresolution, i.e., longer intervals between values. Optionally, thesystem supports queries that provide the values of the user measurementsat a required time, for instance by interpolating and/or extrapolatingvalues from the stored measurements at different times.

In one embodiment, the user measurement data may be processed and/ornormalized in many ways, before, during and/or after the data is stored.In one example, the values of some of the measurements are scaled to bein the range [−1,+1]. In another example, the values of some of themeasurements are normalized to z-values, which bring the mean of thevalues recorded for the modality to 0, with a variance of 1. In yetanother example, some user measurements may be processed and/orconverted to analyzable features in several ways. For instance, throughextracting statistics for the values of each measurement channel in apredefined window size, such as the minimum, maximum, and/or variousmoments of the distribution, such as the mean, variance, or skewness. Instill another example, user measurements are subjected to featureextraction and/or reduction techniques, such as Fisher projections,Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and/or feature selection techniqueslike Sequential Forward Selection (SFS) or Sequential Backward Selection(SBS). In still another example, some of the images and video images maybe processed using various detection algorithms for identifying cueslike movement, smiling, laughter, concentration, facial expressionsand/or microexpressions (for example, by human facial expressionstaxonomy such as “Facial Action Coding System” by Paul Ekman), bodyposture, body language, gaze. Images may also be processed withalgorithms for detecting and describing local features such asScale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), Speeded Up Robust Features(SURF), and/or scale-space representation. In still another example,body movements (e.g., using motion sensors), and/or audio samples (e.g.,using microphone) may be measured and processed to identify cues likeattitude, attention, affective response, and/or satisfaction. In stillanother example, auditory and/or written data are processed using speechanalysis and/or semantic analysis methods.

Some embodiments may utilize known and to be discovered methods forpre-processing user measurement data and extracting features from themeasured data. For example: (i) a variety of physiological measurementsmay be preprocessed according to the methods and references listed invan Broek, E. L., Janssen, J. H., Zwaag, M. D., D. M. Westerink, J. H.,& Healey, J. A. (2009), Prerequisites for Affective Signal Processing(ASP), In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference onBiomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies, INSTICC Press,incorporated herein by reference; (ii) a variety of acoustic andphysiological signals may be pre-processed and have features extractedfrom them according to the methods described in the references cited inTables 2 and 4, Gunes, H., & Pantic, M. (2010), Automatic, Dimensionaland Continuous Emotion Recognition, International Journal of SyntheticEmotions, 1 (1), 68-99, incorporated herein by reference; (iii)Pre-processing of Audio and visual signals may be performed according tothe methods described in the references cited in Tables 2-4 in Zeng, Z.,Pantic, M., Roisman, G., & Huang, T. (2009), A survey of affectrecognition methods: audio, visual, and spontaneous expressions, IEEETransactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 31 (1),39-58, incorporated herein by reference; and (iv) pre-processing andfeature extraction of various data sources such as images, physiologicalmeasurements, voice recordings, and text based-features, may beperformed according to the methods described in the references cited inTables 1, 2, 3, 5 in Calvo, R. A., & D'Mello, S. (2010). AffectDetection: An Interdisciplinary Review of Models, Methods, and TheirApplications. IEEE Transactions on affective computing 1(1), 18-37,incorporated herein by reference.

Tokens

In one embodiment, the system extracts, receives, and/or accesses astream of token instances. The token instances may be annotated usingany appropriate manual, semi-automatic, and/or automated techniques. Forexample, manual token labeling may be achieved using manual annotationor marking. In another example, the token labeling is partiallyautomated using algorithms to segment media into scenes, or segmentand/or outline objects in images. In still another example, the tokeninstances are extracted from audio-visual content and labeledautomatically utilizing known and to be discovered image and/or videosegmentation, and/or object detection algorithms. In another example,some of the token instances may be extracted from audio-visualmonitoring of the user's surroundings, for example using one or moremicrophones and/or one or more cameras on the user and/or in thesurroundings. In another example, some of the tokens may be extracted bysemantic analysis of text, uttered words, conversations, blog posts,twits, or emails; such tokens may represent specific words, phrases, orconcepts that can be derived from the content of the stimuli. In anotherexample, some of the tokens may be derived from location-based data.

In one embodiment, a single object such as an image, a sentence, alocation, or a sound may be the cause of multiple token instantiations.For example, a cute black puppy may instantiate the tokens “dog” and“black” (its dominant color) and “cute” (its general appearance). A songmay instantiate the tokens “Rock 'n Roll” and “loud music”.

In one embodiment, token instances are stored as records in a database.Optionally, the token instances are stored as a time-series, whereentries in the database correspond to certain times or events and maycontain information about the tokens instantiated at that time or event.Optionally, records in the database are stored in a structure that linksbetween the token instances and emotional state annotations of the usercorresponding to times in temporal proximity of the user's exposure tosaid token instances. Optionally, records in the database are stored ina structure that links between the token instances and user measurementchannel data corresponding to times in temporal proximity of a user'sexposure to said token instances.

In one embodiment, token instances may include values for variousattributes such as a token identification number, weight (importance),size, and/or intensity, when applicable to the type of token instancebeing stored. Optionally, token instances may include the duration,and/or start time and duration, and/or start time and end time, and/orany other equivalent notation designating a period of time, or events,in which the user was exposed to the token instances.

In one embodiment, a token may be instantiated multiple times,optionally, at overlapping times. For example, a scene in which thereare several characters appearing, may annotated as having severalinstances of the token “person”.

In one embodiment, some tokens may be grouped into different classes,types and/or abstraction levels. Optionally, a token may belong to oneor more groups of tokens. In one example dealing with media a user isviewing, the type of media the user is watching may be a high-leveltoken group called “media type”, which may include various tokens like“movie”, “tv program”, “web cast”. On a lower level, there may be tokensdescribing scenes in a movie, which may grouped together under the label“scene type”, which may include tokens like “romantic scene”, “actionsequence”, “dramatic climax”. In another example dealing with a user'svisit to a supermarket while using a device with augmented realitycapabilities (like a smart phone), a high level token group may be“locations”, which may include tokens like “user's home”, “supermarket”,“user's office”. A lower level group of tokens may be labeled “sublocations”, and include various tokens like “dairy department”, “softdrinks section”, “checkout line”. A group of low-level tokens mayinclude specific products like “cranberry juice”, “yogurt”, or “bread”.

In one embodiment, tokens may be grouped according to various criteriasuch as the tokens' typical context, and/or location of experience bythe user. In one example, a high-level token group may be “activitytype” which will typically include activities that may last hours like“watching a movie”, “rock climbing”, “reading a book”, “surfing theweb”. A low-level token group may be “images on computer screen”, whichwill include various images seen on the computer screen with a typicalshort duration.

In one embodiment, token instances may be grouped according to theirsource or cause of instantiation. For example, all token instancesinstantiated by the playing of a movie (a token for the whole movie,tokens for types of scenes, tokens for images, sounds), can be groupedas having the movie as their source. In another example, all tokeninstances corresponding to words and phrases appearing on a web-pageshare the web-pages URL as their source, and may be grouped togetheraccordingly.

In one embodiment, tokens may be described using one or morehierarchies. For example, a dog may have the following hierarchicaltokens: level 1—animal, level 2—dog, level 3—puppy, level 4—Labradorpuppy, level 5—black Labrador puppy. A song may be given the followinghierarchical tokens: level 1—music, level 2—rock n' roll, level 3—musicby Kiss, level 4—“Rock n' Roll all Night” performed by Kiss.

In one embodiment, patterns of tokens, or subsets of tokens, may begrouped together and represented by a new pattern token. For example, ifin a certain time interval, such as the one defined by a temporal windowof token instances, instances of the individual tokens comprising thepattern are found, they may be replaced with the corresponding patterntoken. Optionally, the pattern token's weight at that time point mayequal the sum of its individual tokens' weights and/or the cardinalitythey have for the purpose of token counts, for instance if saturation isincluded in the model, may equal the number of tokens in the pattern.Following this stage, the model creation, optimization, and analysis maytreat the instances of pattern tokens as regular token instances.

In one embodiment, subsets of tokens that may serve as pattern tokensmay be found using algorithms for finding frequent patterns. Optionally,some patterns may involve attribute values of some of the tokeninstances. For example, some of the algorithms described in Han, J.,Cheng, H., Xin, D., & Yan, X. (2007), Frequent pattern mining: currentstatus and future directions, Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery,15(1), 55-86, incorporated herein by reference, may be used fordetecting frequent patterns in various ways.

Attention

In one embodiment, some of the token instances may be assigned valuesreflecting the level of interest a user is predicted to have in saidtoken instances. The terms “interest level” and “attention level” areused herein interchangeably. Optionally, interest level data in tokensmay be compiled from one or more sources, such as (i) attention levelmonitoring, (ii) prediction algorithms for interest levels, and/or (iii)using external sources of information on interest levels. Optionally,interest level data in tokens may be stored as a numerical attribute oftoken instances. Optionally, the interest level data in tokens mayexpress the relative interest levels in the various token instances.Optionally, interest level data in tokens may be grouped into broadcategories, for example, the visual tokens may be grouped into threecategories according to the attention they are given by the user: (i)full attention, (ii) partial/background attention, (iii) low/noattention.

In one embodiment, a user's level of interests in some of the tokens maybe derived from the user measurement channels, which are processed todetect the level at which the user is paying attention to some of thetoken instances at some of the times.

In one embodiment, the general attention level may be measured, forexample by a camera and software that determines if the user's eyes areopen and looking in the direction of the visual stimuli, and/or byphysiological measurements that may include one or more of thefollowing: heart rate, electromyography (frequency of muscle tension),electroencephalography (rest/sleep brainwave patterns), and/or motionsensors (such as MEMS sensors held/worn by the user), which may be usedto determine the level of the user's consciousness, co-consciousness,and/or alertness at a given moment. In one example, the fact that a useris looking or not looking at a display is used to determine the user'slevel of interest in a program appearing on the display.

In one embodiment, object-specific attention level may be measured forexample by one or more cameras and software that performs eye-trackingand/or gaze monitoring to detect what regions of a display, or region ofan object, or physical element the user is focusing his/her attentionat. The eye-tracking/gaze information can be compared to objectannotation of the picture/scene the user is looking at to assign weightsand/or attention levels to specific token instances, which represent theobjects the user is looking at.

In one embodiment, various methods and models for predicting the user'sinterest level are used in order to assign interest level scores forsome token instances.

In one embodiment, user interest levels in image-based token instancesare predicted according to one or more automatic importance predictingalgorithms, such as the one described in Spain, M. & Perona, P. (2011),Measuring and Predicting Object Importance, International Journal ofComputer Vision, 91 (1). pp. 59-76. In another embodiment, user interestin objects is estimated using various video-based attention predictionalgorithms such as the one described in Zhai, Y. and Shah, M. (2006),Visual Attention Detection in Video Sequences Using Spatiotemporal Cues,In the Proceedings of the 14th annual ACM international conference onMultimedia, pages 815-824, or Lee, W. F. et al. (2011), Learning-BasedPrediction of Visual Attention for Video Signals, IEEE Transactions onImage Processing, 99, 1-1.

Optionally, the predicted level of interest from such models may bestored as an attribute value for some token instances. In one example, amodel for predicting the user's interest level in various visual objectsis created automatically using the one or more selected automaticimportance predicting algorithm, using token instances for which thereis user attention monitoring, as training data. In one embodiment,different types of tokens are tagged with different attention data,optionally in parallel.

Analysis of previous observations of the user's interest in some tokensmay be used to determine interest in new, previously unobserved, tokens.In one embodiment, a machine learning algorithm is used to create amodel for predicting the user's interest in tokens, for which there ispossibly no previous information, using the following steps: (i)extracting features for each token instance, for example describing thesize, duration, color, subject of visual objects; (ii) using theattention-level monitoring data as a score for the user's interest;(iii) training a predictor on this data with a machine learningalgorithm, such as neural networks or support vector machines forregression; and (iv) using the trained predictor to predict interestlevels in instance of other (possibly previously unseen) tokens.

In one embodiment, analysis of previous observations of the user may beused to determine interest in specific tokens. In one embodiment, apredictor for the level of attention a user is expected to pay todifferent token instances is created by combining the attentionpredictor models and/or prediction data from other users through amachine learning collaborative filtering approach.

In one embodiment, information gathered from other users who wereessentially exposed to the same token instances as the user may be usedto assign interest levels for the user, for example, in cases where theuser's interest level data is missing or unreliable. In one example,when assigning interest level to tokens extracted from a multimediaitem, at times when the user's eye-tracking information is missing orinconclusive for a token instance, the interest levels for that tokeninstance can be set to average interest levels given to that tokeninstance by other users who viewed the same multimedia content.

In one embodiment, an external source may provide the system with dataon the user's interest level in some tokens and/or token instances. Inone example, information on users' interest may be provided by one ormore humans by answering a questionnaire indicating current areas ofinterest. The questionnaire may include areas such as pets, celebrities,gadgets, media such as music and/or movies (genres, performers, etc.),and more. The questionnaire may be answered by the user, friends,relations, and/or a third party. In another example, semantic analysisof the user's communications such as voice and/or video conversations,instant messages, emails, blog posts, twits, comments in forums, keyworduse in web searches, and/or browsing history may be used to inferinterest in tokens describing specific subjects, programs, and orobjects of interest. In yet another example, some of the user's subjectsof interest may be provided by third parties, such as social-networkingsites like Facebook, and/or online retailers like Amazon.

In one embodiment, a temporal attention level is computed for the userat a specific time. Optionally, the user's temporal attention levelrefers to a specific token instance or group of token instances. In oneexample, the temporal attention level is stored as a time series on ascale from no attention being paid to full attention is being paid.Optionally, temporal attention level data is extracted from a visualattention data source (e.g., eye-tracking, face expression analysis,posture analysis), an auditory data sources, monitoring the usersmovement (e.g., analysis of motion sensor coupled to the user), and/orphysiological measurements (e.g., EEG).

In one embodiment, interest levels obtained from various sources arecombined into a single “combined interest level score”. The combinedinterest level score may be stored as an attribute in some of the tokeninstances. In one example, the interest level scores from varioussources such as attention-level monitoring, predicted interest based onthe user's historical attention-levels, and/or interest data receivedfrom external data sources, may be available for a token instance.Optionally, the combined interest level score may be a weightedcombination of the values from the different sources, where each sourcehas a predefined weight.

Token Instance Weights

In one embodiment, token instances are given a weight attribute, whichis correlated with the estimated magnitude of the token instances'influence on the user's affective response. Optionally, a token instancemay have a single value or multiple values for the weight attribute. Forexample, multiple values may describe the token instance weight atvarious time points. In one embodiment, the system supports queries thatprovide the values of a token instance's weight at a required time, forexample by interpolating and/or extrapolating values from token instanceweights at different time points.

In one embodiment, the token instance weight is a pre-determined value.In one embodiment, q weight attributes are assigned to a token instance,for example, weights w₁, . . . , w_(q) for q different segments of theduration of the token instance's existence. The total weight assigned tothe token instance equals w=w₁+ . . . +w_(q), and may be distributed tothe q attribute values in different ways. In one example, the weight isdistributed uniformly, such that w₁= . . . =w_(q)=w/q. In anotherexample, the weights may be distributed in a non-uniform way, such asassigning higher weights to earlier segments in the duration of thetoken instance's existence to reflect the fact that the token'sinfluence on the affective state diminishes as time goes by. Optionally,the weight assignment to various points may follow a parametricdistribution, such as an exponential or Gamma distribution, withpredefined parameters, and/or parameters that are set as part of theaffective response model training.

In one embodiment, attribute values for some of the token instances maybe used to modify the weights of the token instances. For example,tokens that have an attribute “size” or “intensity” may be reweighted,for instance, by multiplying the token instance weight with theattribute value(s), to reflect the fact that larger or more intenseinstances have a stronger influence on the user's affective state.

In one embodiment, some of the attention level scores may be used toreweight token instances. For example, the token instance weight may bemultiplied by the attention score for the token instance which is in therange [0,1], or multiplied by the average attention score.

In one embodiment, different types of tokens may be assigned differentattention levels at the same time, depending on the circumstances. Forexample, when viewing media on a screen, if it is determined from acamera monitoring the user that he/she is momentarily not looking at thescreen, all visual token instances may be given an interest levelreflecting that fact, for instance a weight of 0. At the same time, itmay be assumed that the user is still listening; therefore,sound-related token instances may still be given a weight greater thanzero.

In one embodiment, general attention levels are allowed to affectlong-lasting token instances that involve things like the genre,program, or main characters; while short lasting token instances, likeobject tokens such as a dog or a car, are not influenced by the generalattention levels unless the content is about the specific tokeninstance. For example, a user is watching a movie where the scene takesplace in a living room: If the user is not paying attention to themedia, there is no reason to assign a weight to token instances of itemsin the background of the scene, such as the sofa or napping dog, sincethe user is not paying attention to the scene and thus anything learnedabout the user's affective response towards those token instances isprobably noise.

In one embodiment, the weights of token instances in a database arenormalized. For example, the weights may be normalized in such a waythat the sum of weights from all token instances in the database at agiven time, or all instances in a temporal window of token instances,equals a required value. Optionally, weights of token instances may benormalized in such a way that depends on the sum of the token instanceweights (denoted by S). For example, token instance weights may benormalized in such a way that they sum up to log(1+S), or the squareroot of S.

Emotions

In one embodiment, the user's emotional state is annotated at some timepoints, or for some temporal windows of token instances, using variousmethods for representing emotions. Optionally, the annotations areobtained utilizing a transformation from a domain representingmeasurements to a domain representing internal emotional states.Optionally, the user's emotional state is annotated by the user, forexample using self-report systems such as questionnaires or GUIs.

In some embodiments, the user's emotional state may be represented usingdifferent methods:

In one embodiment, emotional states are represented using discretecategories. For example, the emotion categories may include threecategories: negatively excited, positively excited, and neutral. Inanother example, the emotion categories include happiness, surprise,anger, fear, disgust, and sadness.

In yet another example, the categories can relate to a user's level ofinterest in content comprising token instances, such as interested ornot interested.

In one embodiment, emotional states are represented using amultidimensional representation, which characterizes the emotional statein terms of a small number of latent dimensions. In one example, theemotional states are represented as points in a two dimensional space ofArousal and Valence. Arousal describes the physical activation andvalence the pleasantness or hedonic value. Each detectable experiencedemotion is assumed to fall in a specified region in that 2D space. Otherdimensions that may be used to represent emotions include:potency/control (refers to the individual's sense of power or controlover the eliciting event), expectation (the degree of anticipating orbeing taken unaware), and intensity (how far a person is away from astate of pure, cool rationality). The various dimensions used torepresent emotions may be correlated. For example, the values of arousaland valence are often correlated, with very few emotional displays beingrecorded with high arousal and neutral valence. In one embodiment,emotional states are represented as points on a circle in a twodimensional space pleasure and arousal (e.g., the “circumplex”).

In one embodiment, emotional states are represented using a numericalvalue that represents the intensity of the affective state with respectto a specific emotion. For example, a numerical value stating how muchthe user is enthusiastic or happy. Optionally, the numeric value for theemotional state may be derived from a multidimensional spacerepresentation. For example, let P be a path or collection of points inthe multidimensional space. For every point p in P, a numerical valued(p) can be computed, for instance by computing the distance that needsto be traveled along P from a reference point serving as zero to reachp. Given a point q in the multidimensional emotional space, which is notin the set of points P, the projection of q on P is a point q′ in P, forwhich the Euclidean distance (q,q′) is essentially minimal. Thenumerical value for the point q may be assigned the same value as itsprojection on P, which equals d(q′).

In one embodiment, emotional states may be modeled using componentialmodels that are based on the appraisal theory, as described by the OCCmodel (Ortony, Clore & Collins, 1998). According to this theory, aperson's emotions are derived by appraising the current situation(including events, agents, and objects) with respect to the person goalsand preferences.

In one embodiment, emotional states represented by categories areconverted to a multidimensional representation, for example, byassigning each category a representative point in the multidimensionalspace.

In one embodiment, emotional states described as points in amultidimensional space are converted into a categorical representationin several ways. In one example, there are predefined categories, witheach category having one or more representative points in themultidimensional space. An unassigned point P in the multidimensionalspace may be assigned to the category that has a representative point P′for which the Euclidian distance between P and P′ is smaller or equal tothe distance between P and all other category representative points. Inanother example, the multidimensional space representing emotions ispartitioned into a number of regions that cover the entiremultidimensional space. Following that, the points falling in the sameregion belong to the same category. For example, a valid partition maybe splitting the arousal-valence space into four quadrants;consequently, each point in the multidimensional space belongs to one ofthe four resulting categories. In yet another example, themultidimensional emotional space contains N or more points describingemotions, for example, from the emotional states of multiple peopleand/or multiple time points. The points in the multidimensional spaceare then clustered into N clusters, using an algorithm like K-means withthe Euclidean distance metric. Each cluster may then represent acategory, with the mean of each cluster serving as a representativepoint for the category. Each existing or new point P in the dimensionalspace may then be assigned a category by choosing the category whoserepresentative point has a minimal distance to P.

In one embodiment, emotional states are described using a scalar value,and may be converted to a categorical representation, for example, usingpredefined categories, where each category has one or morerepresentative scalar value(s). An unassigned point P in the space maybe assigned to the category which has a representative point P′ forwhich the value |P-P′| is minimal.

In one embodiment, a method is provided for computing the distancebetween two emotional state annotations. In one example, the distancebetween two categorical annotations may be computed using a pre-defineddistance matrix that holds the distance between pairs of annotations. Inanother example, the distance between two annotations in a scalarrepresentation may equal the absolute value of the result of thesubtraction of the value of the first annotation from the second. In yetanother example, the distance between two annotations using amultidimensional emotional state representation may equal the Euclideandistance between both annotations.

Situations

In one embodiment, a user's exposure to tokens and/or the user'sresponse are monitored over a long period of time that spans varioussituations. Different situations may affect the user's behavior andresponse. For example, the user's reaction to certain token instancesmay change depending on the situation in which the user was in whilebeing exposed to the token instances. For example, a user may reactcalmly to adult-themed material when viewing alone (one situation),however the same user may react angrily if such material was to appearwhile the user's children were present (a different situation). Inanother example, the user's baseline value for an emotional state and/oruser measurement channel may change significantly in differentsituations, such as when the user is driving vs. relaxing at home, orwhen the user is alert vs. inebriated.

In one embodiment, information describing a user's situation duringcertain times and/or events is stored in a database. Optionally, somesituations are described using one or more token instances and/orattribute values of one or more token instances. Optionally, informationdescribing a situation is linked to some of the token instances.Optionally, information describing a situation may be linked to databaserecords corresponding to temporal windows of token instances.Optionally, information describing some situations may be in the form ofsituation identifiers.

In some embodiment, the situation identifiers are received describingthe user's situation during certain times and/or events. Optionally, aclassifier may be trained to identify the situation occurring during newtimes and/or events. Optionally, the training samples used to train sucha classifier comprised of one or more of the following elementscorresponding to a certain time and/or event: values of some tokeninstances and/or their attributes, values from one or more usermeasurement channels, an emotional state annotation, a baseline valuefor the emotional state, and/or baseline values for one or more usermeasurement channels. Optionally, some training samples are assignedlabels corresponding to their respective situation identifiers.Optionally, a machine learning classification algorithm is trained usingthe training samples, in order to produce a classifier that may identifythe situation in which the user is at various times and/or events. Forexample, the machine learning algorithm used to train a classifier maybe a neural network classifier, a support vector machine, a maximumentropy classifier, or a random forest. In one embodiment, the trainingdata may be comprised of both labeled and unlabeled data (for which thesituation is unknown), and a semi-supervised machine learning method maybe employed to train the classifier.

Baselines

In one embodiment, one or more baseline levels are computed for theuser's response, which may be a variable representing values of theuser's affective state and/or values of some of the user measurementchannels. A user's baseline response level is a representative value ofthe user's usual state, computed from multiple values acquired over along period, such as a few hours, a day, a month, or even a year. Abaseline level usually reflects the expected value for the user'sresponse when not considering the effects of the user's shortterm-exposure to token instances. In one example, a response variablemay correspond to an emotional state (is the user typically relaxed,anxious, excited). In another example, a response variable correspondsto a physiological signal value such as a user's typical heart rate.

In one embodiment, a user's baseline level is computed for a categoricalresponse variable, such as the user's emotional state, which isrepresented by emotional categories. Optionally, the baseline level iscomputed by observing the values of the categorical response variableover a long period, and using for a baseline level the category that wasthe response variable's value the longest time. Optionally, the baselinelevel comprises a set of values that describe the proportion of time theresponse variable had each of the categorical values.

In one embodiment, a user's baseline level is computed for a real-valuedresponse variable, such as a user measurement channel or a dimension inan emotional state representation. Optionally, the baseline level iscomputed from observations of the response variable's values collectedover a long period. Optionally, a baseline level may bemultidimensional, being comprised of several baselines corresponding toindividual dimensions. For example, a user's emotional state baselinemay be comprised of a baseline level for the user's arousal and abaseline level for the user's valence.

In one embodiment, a user's baseline level for a response variable iscomputed using a window of a fixed duration (such as an hour, a day, aweek), from which the values of the response variable are collected forthe baseline computation. Optionally, the baseline level is computedwhen the user is in a specific situation (such as being alone, watchingTV, being in a happy mood) by collecting values of the response variableduring periods when the user was in essentially the same situations.

In one embodiment, a user's baseline level for a response variable iscomputed by collecting multiple values of the response variable,optionally while the user is in similar situations, and applying variouscomputational procedures to the collected values, such as: (i) averagingvalues in a sliding time window of a predefined size; (ii) a weightedaverage of the collected values; (iii) low-pass filtering to the values;(iv) Fourier transform to the collected values; and/or (v) wavelettransform analysis to the data.

In one embodiment, a baseline value may be comprised of a weightedcombination of several baseline values computed from data collected atdifferent time-scales and/or situations. For example, a baseline for theemotional state of a user watching an action movie on a television setmay be comprised of the following baselines: 20% of the weight is givento the user's baseline computed from data collected during the previous24 hour period (in all situations), 30% of the weight is given to thebaseline computed from data collected from the user's most recent twohours of television viewing (of any program type), and the remaining 50%of the baseline weight is given to the baseline computed from the last100 hours of the users viewing of action content (such as movies ortelevision programs).

In one embodiment, the user's baseline level values for a responsevariable computed at different times and/or situations are stored in adatabase. Optionally, additional values are stored in the database suchas (i): values and/or baseline values for user measurement channels;(ii) values and/or baseline values for the user's emotional state; (iii)situation identifiers denoting situations the user was in during theperiod in which data was collected for the baseline computation; (iv)values and/or baseline values of tokens describing the user's situation;and/or (v) linkage information between baseline values at certain timesand records corresponding to temporal windows of token instances.

In practice, the ideal baseline function is often not a simple smoothaverage function, because the baseline level may strongly depend on theuser's situation. As a result, the user's baseline level may changesignificantly during a short duration of time when there is asignificant change in the user's situation. Thus in practice, thebaseline does not often resemble a smooth slow-changing functiontypically observed when the baseline is computed as an average of valuescollected over long periods of time. For example, when the user is aloneat home watching TV, he/she has one baseline level for the emotionalstate; if the user's mother-in-law enters the house, the user'semotional state baseline may change significantly in a very short time,and remain in that changed state for the duration of the mother-in-law'spresence. This rapid change in baseline may not be reflected in a timelymanner if the baseline is computed simply by averaging values in a largetemporal window, while disregarding the context of different situations.The following paragraphs exemplify embodiments for computing suchrapidly adjusting situation-dependent baselines.

In one embodiment, a user's baseline level is predicted using a machinelearning method, such as a support vector machine, a regression method,a neural network, or support vector machine for regression. The trainingdata for the machine learning method may include samples comprisingresponse variable values and various input variable values. Optionally,the data for the samples is collected while the user is in specificsituations, in order to train situation-specific baseline predictors forthe user.

In one embodiment, the training data for a machine learning-basedbaseline value predictor for a user comprises data of one or more of thefollowing types:

(i) Computed baseline values for the user for the response variableand/or other variables (such as user measurement channels). Optionally,the baseline values are computed using data collected in different ways,such as by collecting values from time intervals of different durationsand/or times in which the user was in certain situations. Optionally,the baseline values for the time windows computed for the data from thetime intervals using various methods such as averaging, low-passfiltering, Fourier transform, and/or wavelet transform.

(ii) Situation identifiers and/or values of some token instances, ortheir attributes, at specific times (such as the time for which thebaseline is predicted), which may be used to define the user'ssituation. Note that the token instance values provided to the machinelearning method may include long-lasting token instances that describeproperties like the user's activity (e.g., watching a movie, driving,being massaged), or properties describing the user's environment (e.g.,at home, sitting alone), or the user's state or mood (e.g., excited,tired). Such long-lasting token instances may have long-lastinginfluence on the user's baseline values.

(iii) Baseline values computed or collected from other data sources,such as models of other users.

In one embodiment, after using a machine learning training method toprocess the training data, the resulting model is used to predict theuser's baseline level for a response variable. When informationregarding the user's situation and/or situation-specific inputs areprovided (such as baselines for specific situations), the resultingpredictions for baseline values made by the classifier may rapidlyadjust to situation changes that may lead to dramatic changes in theuser's baseline level for some of the variables.

Windows

In one embodiment, individual temporal windows of token instances may beassigned weights. For example, a certain window may be given a higherweight than others may be given if it is deemed more important, forinstance, if it appears before a time where there is significant changein the user's predicted emotional state and/or user measurement values.In another example, certain windows may cover times in which themeasurements are known to be more accurate, so the window weights may beincreased in order to increase these windows' influence during modeltraining.

In one embodiment, the token instances in a window are represented by avector. For example, where the number of possible different tokens is N,a window is represented by a vector of length N, where position i in thevector holds the sum of the weights of all instances of token i in thewindow, or zero if there were no instances of token i in the window.Optionally, position i in the vector may hold the number of instances oftoken i that existed in the window.

In some embodiments, the vectors representing windows are preprocessedand/or modified using some of following methods.

In one embodiment, a set of token instances in a window is filtered toexclude some of the token instances. For example, only the top K tokeninstances with the highest weights are represented in a window.

In one embodiment, weight values in a window's vector are normalized.Optionally, the weights are normalized so the sum of the weightattributes in the window's vector equals a pre-defined constant, forexample 1. Alternatively, the weights in the vector, which beforenormalization sum up to W, are normalized to sum up to a function of W,such as log(1+W), or the square root of W. Optionally, the tokeninstance weights are normalized according to the duration of the window.For example, by dividing a token's instance weight by the duration ofthe window, or by a function of the duration of the window.

In one embodiment, additional values may be added to a window's vectorthat are derived from various sources, such as the attribute values forthe token instances in the window, attribute values from other windows,or various baseline values.

In one embodiment, window vectors include variables derived from thetoken instances' attribute values. For each attribute, variables may beadded in one or more of the following ways: (i) A single variablerepresenting all instances in the window. For example, the attributedescribing the general interest level, as measured by an eye-trackingdevice, may be added as a single variable. In another example, a singlevariable “intensity” may be added to the vector and given the averagevalue of the intensity attribute for all token instances that have thatattribute. (ii) Multiple variables representing different groups oftoken instances. For example, separate variables for the attribute soundenergy may be created for different types of token instances, such as“short sounds”, tokens whose source is “music videos”, and those whosesource is “classical music”. (iii) Multiple variables for each tokeninstance. For example, each token instance may optionally have variablessuch as weight, interest level, and size.

In one embodiment, the vectors describing temporal windows of tokeninstances include variables describing a baseline value and/or asituation identifier corresponding to the window's scope.

In one embodiment, the vectors describing temporal windows of tokeninstances include variables describing the difference between the user'sstate at a certain time (e.g., user emotional state, or a value from auser measurement channel) and the user's baseline value for thecorresponding time (e.g., the predicted baseline value for the user'semotional state or user measurement channel value).

In one embodiment, the vectors describing temporal windows of tokeninstances include a variable describing the duration of the temporalwindows of token instances.

In one embodiment, the vectors describing temporal windows of tokeninstances include variables describing the number of token instances inthe window and/or their weight. Adding such a variable may assist inincorporating the effects of sensory saturation into models. Often whensaturation occurs, the effect of an additional stimulus is diminishedwhen a large number of stimuli are experienced simultaneously.Optionally, separate variables may be added for different groups oftokens, such as image tokens, word tokens, or music tokens.

In one embodiment, the vectors describing temporal windows of tokeninstances include variables describing the number of times a token hadbeen instantiated previously in various windows. For example, a variabledescribing how many times in the past minute/hour/day a token had beeninstantiated is added for some tokens or groups of tokens in order toassist models account for affects of habituation, where repeatedexposure to the same stimuli may diminish their effect on the user.

In one embodiment, variables in the vectors describing temporal windowsof token instances may be split into b variables representing b bins forthe values of the variables, each bin representing a different range ofvalues.

In one embodiment, a variable may be split into several conditionalvariables, all corresponding to the same original variable; however,only one of the derivative variables is given a value in each window.The choice of which of the variables is given a value may depend on avalue from another source such as token instance or baseline value. Forexample, a variable corresponding to the token “movie” may be split totwo separate variables according to a token named “viewer is watchingalone”, so if the user is watching the movie alone, a non-zero value isgiven to the first variable corresponding to “movie”. And if the user isnot alone, a non-zero value is given to the second variablecorresponding to “movie”. In another example, variables are splitaccording to the value of a baseline for the user. For example,splitting a variable according to the quadrant in a 2D arousal/valencespace in which the baseline value falls. Such splits may assist certainmodels to account for the fact that certain token instances may have adramatically different effect on the user, depending on the user'sbaseline emotional state (such as the person being in a good or badmood).

In one embodiment, a new variable in a vector describing temporalwindows of token instances may be assigned values that are the result ofa function applied to one of the values of one or more variables in thevector. For example, a variable may equal the square of the weightassigned to a token instance. In another example, a variable may equalthe weight of a token instance multiplied by the interest level of thattoken instance. Optionally, the new variable may replace one or more ofthe variables used to assign its value.

In one embodiment, a distance function is provided for computing thedistance between vectors representing temporal windows of tokeninstances. In one example, the distance function computes the dotproduct of two vectors. In another example, the distance functioncomputes the distance between two vectors using a metric such as theEuclidean distance or Hamming distance. In yet another example, where X1is the set of token instances in a first window and X2 is the set oftoken instances in a second window, the distance between the windowsequals 1−(|X1∩X2|/|X1UX2|).

Databases

In one embodiment, a database stores a list of the token instancesrepresenting stimuli that may influence a user's affective state.Optionally, each token instance in the list is stored as a tokenidentifier linked to a record comprising additional attributes such asbeginning time of the token's instantiation and/or the user's exposureto the token instance, duration of exposure and/or instantiation, theweight of the token instance, the user's interest/attention level in thetoken instance. Optionally, the database also includes affectiveresponse annotations, for example, an emotional state represented as acategory, a scalar, or multidimensional value. Some of the stored tokeninstances may be linked to the annotations, for instance by storing theannotation as an attribute of the token instances. Optionally, thedatabase also includes situation identifiers describing the user'ssituation when being exposed to some token instances. For example, thesituation identifiers may be added as token instances and/or attributesof token instances. Optionally, the database is used to supply data fortraining a machine learning-based affective response model for the user.

In another embodiment, a database stores a collection of temporalwindows of token instances. Optionally, each window has a fixedduration, for example, ten seconds. Optionally, the token instances andsome of their attributes (such as weight, interest/attention level, andsize) are represented by a vector of values. Optionally, windows may beassigned annotations representing affective responses, such as anemotional state and/or change in state represented as a category, singledimensional value, and/or multidimensional values. Optionally, windowsmay be assigned one or more situation identifiers, denoting the user'ssituation when being exposed to the tokens in the window. Optionally,the situation identifiers are derived on demand from the stored tokens.Optionally, the database is used to supply data for training a machinelearning-based affective response model for the user.

In one embodiment, the token instances stored in a database are obtainedfrom long-term monitoring of the user, for example, for a period lastingfrom days to years. Optionally, the token instances stored in thedatabase originate from multiple token sources, and the user may beexposed to them in many different situations. Optionally, the user isexposed to more than one token instance simultaneously, i.e., the useris exposed to multiple tokens with overlapping instantiation periods.Optionally, some of the stored tokens instances comprise representationsof elements extracted from digital media content, such as images,sounds, and/or text. Optionally, some of the stored tokens instancescomprise representations of elements extracted from an electromechanicaldevice in physical contact with the user.

In one embodiment, database storing information about token instances,also stores information from at least one user measurement channel.Optionally, the database includes linking information such as timestamps to associate between token instances and the user measurementchannels measured in temporal vicinity of the exposure to some of thetoken instances. Optionally, the user measurement channels may be storedat different time resolutions, for example, values of EEG signals maystored every 50 milliseconds, while skin temperature may be stored everytwo seconds.

Predictors

In one embodiment, a machine learning-based predictor is trained forpredicting the user's response when exposed to token instances.Optionally, the predictor predicts the user's affective response whenexposed to the token instances. Optionally, the predictor predicts thevalues corresponding to one or more of the user's measurement channels.Optionally, the predictor may utilize any known or yet-to-be inventedmachine learning methods for classification or prediction, which operateon data samples and return a predicted target value.

In one embodiment, a machine learning training procedure is suppliedtraining data comprising of samples and corresponding target values(also referred to as labels). The samples include information derivedfrom token instances. Optionally, samples are derived from temporalwindows of token instances, for example, by using a vectorrepresentation for the windows. Optionally, the samples are preprocessedin various ways, for example, normalizing, filtering, and/or binningsome of the values. Optionally, samples are augmented with additionalinformation, for example, baseline values, user measurement channelvalues, values describing the distance from a baseline, valuesdescribing counts of samples in the temporal window of token instances(e.g., in order to account for saturation), and/or values correspondingto previous instantiation of some of the tokens (e.g., in order toaccount for habituation). Optionally, some samples are assigned weightvalues, for example, in order for the machine learning procedures toemphasize them appropriately in the training.

In one embodiment, the data used to create the samples for training amachine learning based predictor is collected by monitoring a user overa long period of time (for instance hours, days, months and even years),and/or while the user is in a large number of different situations.Optionally, the training data is comprised of token instancesoriginating from multiple sources of different types. For example, sometoken instances comprise representations of elements extracted fromdigital media content. In another example, some token instances compriserepresentations of elements extracted from an electromechanical devicein physical contact with the user. Optionally, the training data iscomprised of some token instances with overlapping instantiationperiods, i.e., the user may be simultaneously exposed to a plurality oftoken instances. Optionally, the user may be simultaneously exposed to aplurality of token instances originating from different token sourcesand/or different types of token sources.

In one embodiment, a machine learning-based predictor is trained topredict the user's response (which may also be referred to as a targetvalue) when exposed to token instances. Optionally, the response isgiven in the form of a value of a categorical variable. Optionally, theresponse is given in the form of a value for scalar variable, such as aninteger or real value. Optionally, the response is given in the form ofa value of a multidimensional variable or vector.

In one embodiment, a machine learning-based predictor for a user'smultidimensional response value may be obtained by merging the outcomeof multiple predictors for single dimensional response values,corresponding to individual dimensions of a desired multidimensionalresponse. In some cases, there are correlations between the dimensionsof a multidimensional response, such as when the response is anaffective response or the response is given in the form of usermeasurement channel values. Therefore, in one embodiment, themultidimensional response is predicted in a two-stage approach. First, amodel for each response dimension is trained independently. In thesecond stage, a model for each response dimension is trained, whereinthe response values for the other dimensions are also provided as aninput. The final response is obtained by merging the results from thepredictions of the models trained at the second stage. In one example, amultidimensional predictor utilizes single dimensional predictors usingthe method of output-associative fusion, as described in Nicolaou, M.A., Gunes, H., & Pantic, M. (2011) Continuous Prediction of SpontaneousAffect from Multiple Cues and Modalities in Valence—Arousal Space, IEEETransactions on Affective Computing, where the correlations betweendimensions is leveraged to increase the accuracy of a multidimensionalprediction.

In one embodiment, some of the samples used for training the machinelearning-based predictor do not have corresponding target values (alsoreferred to as labels). In this case, training may be performed usingsemi-supervised machine learning techniques. Often semi-supervisedmethods are able utilize unlabeled samples, in order to gain additionalaccuracy. Optionally, different methods for semi-supervised training areused to train more accurate predictors, such as the methods discussed inZhu, X. and Goldberg, A. (2009), Introduction to semi-supervisedlearning. Morgan & Claypool Publishers, which describe variousapproaches in which the unlabeled data may be utilized in the learningprocess, such as (i) mixture models in which the model's parameters arelearned also from the unlabeled data using an expectation maximization(EM) algorithm; (ii) self-training (also referred to as bootstrapping),wherein the predictor or classifier is used to assign target values tounlabeled samples, and is thus able to increase the body of labeledsamples from which it can learn; (iii) co-training, wherein two or morelearners are trained on a set of examples and used to classify unlabeledsamples, but with each learner using a different sets of features.

In one embodiment, in which there are many more training samples thantarget values, the target values may be collected or receivedintermittently. Optionally, by “intermittently”, it is meant that thereare periods of times in which target values (labels) are available, andthose periods may be separated by periods of time in which target valuesare not available. Optionally, by “intermittently”, it is meant that thetarget values may appear sporadically at times, i.e., single targetvalues may be available at certain times, separated by periods in whichthere are no target values available.

In one embodiment, the machine learning-based predictor for the user'sresponse to tokens is created by using ensemble methods that aggregatethe results of different models; for example, methods applying boostingor bagging.

In one embodiment, various dimensionality reduction and/or featureextraction methods may be used to reduce the data's dimensionality, suchas Principal Component Analysis (PCA), or Local Linear Embedding (LLE).In one embodiment, feature selection methods may be used in order toreduce the data dimensionality and remove dimensions that are irrelevantto the prediction task.

In one embodiment, a Naive Bayes model is trained on labeled trainingsamples. Optionally, the Naive Bayes model is used as a classifier,returning a categorical response value. Optionally, some of thevariables in the samples are converted into binary variables, such thatall non-zero values are set to one. Optionally, the values of thevariables in the input data are binned, such that the variables areconverted to discrete multinomial variables. Optionally, some of thevariables are assumed to be distributed according to a parametricdistribution such as the Normal distribution. Optionally, the trainedNaive Bayes model is comprised of class prior probabilities and classconditional probabilities; the class prior probabilities describe theprior probability for a sample to be labeled with a specific category;the class conditional probabilities describe the probability for avariable to have a specific value given the sample is labeled with aspecific label (class).

In one embodiment, a Naive Bayes model is trained using both labeled andunlabeled data. Optionally, the Naive Bayes model is used as aclassifier that predicts a categorical response value. Optionally, themodel is trained using an Expectation Maximization algorithm comprisingthe following steps:

-   -   (i) Training a Naive Bayes classifier using only the labeled        samples to obtain a set of parameters that includes the initial        class prior and class conditional probabilities.

(ii) Repeating the following Expectation-step and Maximization-stepwhile the classifier's parameters improve the performance, e.g., byreducing the classification error rate on an independent test set: (a)Expectation-step: Using the current classifier parameters, compute forall samples (both labeled and unlabeled) the probability that thesamples belong to each of the classes (these probabilities are referredto as “component probabilities”). (b) Maximization-step: Re-estimate theclassifier parameters from all samples using the updated componentprobabilities.

(iii) Outputting the parameters with which classifier obtained the bestperformance.

Optionally, the Naive Bayes model trained in a semi-supervised methodcomprises class prior probabilities and class conditional probabilities;the class prior probabilities describe the prior probability for asample to be labeled with a specific category; the class conditionalprobabilities describe the probability for a variable to have a specificvalue given the sample is labeled with a specific label (class).

In one embodiment, a maximum entropy model is trained to be used as aclassifier that predicts a categorical response value. Maximum entropymodels are a multiclass extension of logistic regression models.Optionally, a maximal entropy model uses feature functions of the formf(x,c), where x is an input variable and c is a class. For example, fora certain sample, the value of f(x,c) may behave as follow, if thesample is labeled by class c, f(x,c) returns the value of feature x,otherwise f(x,c) returns 0. A maximal entropy model comprises weightingparameters λi,j, for 1≦i≦N, and 1≦j≦C, that correspond to the N×Cfeature functions used to train the model (assuming the input vectorshave N features and there are C categories to predict). More informationon Maximum entropy models and their training is available, for example,in Berger, A. L. Della Pietre, S. A. Della Pietra, V. J. (1996) MaximumEntropy Approach to Natural Language Processing. ComputationalLinguistics, 22(1), pages 39-72.

In one embodiment, a neural network model is trained in order to serveas a predictor of a categorical response value, a single dimensionalresponse value, or a multidimensional response value. Optionally, theneural network comprises of an input layer or neurons, one or morehidden layers of neurons, and an output layer of neurons. Optionally,the neural network may utilize a feedforward topology. Alternatively,the neural network may be an Elman/Jordan recurrent neural networktrained using back-propagation.

In one embodiment, a random forest is trained in order to serve as aclassifier. A random forest is an ensemble method that aggregates thepredictions of many decision trees. More information on random forestsis available, for example, in Breiman, Leo (2001). “Random Forests”.Machine Learning 45 (1): 5-32.

In one embodiment, a regression model is used as a predictor of a singledimensional response variable. Optionally, the regression technique usedis Ordinary least squares. Optionally, the regression technique used isweighted least squares (to account for weighted input samples).Optionally, the regression technique used is least angle regression(which has been shown to work well with high-dimensional data).Optionally, the regression technique used is LASSO regression (whichincludes regularization terms).

In one embodiment, the regression may take the form y=X·β+ε, where y isthe response vector (for example, emotional state arousal values), X isa matrix whose rows are the vectors representing the samples (forexample, vector representations of temporal windows of token instances),β is the model parameter vector, and ε is the error vector. The goal ofthe training is to minimize the squared error of the difference betweeny and X·β.

In one embodiment, regression models are used for predicting amultidimensional response value. Optionally, the multidimensionalprediction is done by training separate regression models for each ofthe predicted dimensions. Optionally, Multiple Response Regression maybe used, as described in Hastie, T., Tibshirani, R. and Friedman, J.(2001) The Elements of Statistical Learning, Springer, which describes aregression technique that can leverage the correlations betweendifferent dimensions of the response values.

Predicting Response from User Measurements

In one embodiment, machine learning algorithms are trained on dataextracted from user measurement channels to create a model forpredicting a user's emotional state at a required point in time.Optionally, data comprising token instances may also be used fortraining these models.

In one embodiment, models for a user's emotional state are periodicallyre-trained and/or updated to reflect new data that has been accumulated.Optionally, the models are re-trained following an event where theprediction error exceeds a threshold, and/or following an event wherethe performance deteriorates below a threshold.

In one embodiment, the data extracted from the user measurements may benormalized with respect to the user's baseline value for that time.Optionally, the normalization is performed periodically, such as everyfew hours or every day. Optionally, the normalization is performedfollowing a large change in one or more of the user measurementchannels, such as resulting from a situation change.

In one embodiment, a baseline function for the annotated emotional statemay be used as an input to a machine learning algorithm for predictingthe user's emotional state.

Some embodiments may utilize known and/or yet to be discovered systemsto predict an emotional state from values from a single or multiple usermeasurement channels. The predictions may use various methods foremotional representation, such as categorical, dimensional, and/orappraisal-based. Examples of emotional state prediction methods that maybe use include: (i) physiological-based predictors as described in Table2 in van den Broek et al. (2009); (ii) Audio- and visual-basedpredictors as described in Tables 2-4 in Zeng, Z., et al. (2009); (iii)additional predictors for the emotional state that are bothsingle-channel (unimodal) or multi-channel (multimodal) as described inTables 2, and 4 in (Gunes & Pantic, 2010); and/or (iv) predictors of theemotional state from low-level media features, such as described inHanjalic, A., & Xu, L.-Q. (2005), Affective video content representationand modeling. IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, 7(1), 143-154.

In one embodiment, the machine learning system for predicting a user'semotional state may need to make decisions from multiple usermeasurement channels. Therefore, at some stage, the data from thedifferent user measurement channels may need to be fused. Optionally,different types of data fusion may be employed, for examplefeature-level fusion, decision-level fusion or model-level fusion, asdiscussed in Nicolaou, M. A., Gunes, H., & Pantic, M. (2011), ContinuousPrediction of Spontaneous Affect from Multiple Cues and Modalities inValence-Arousal Space, IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing.

In one embodiment, the user's emotional state at certain time points islabeled by monitoring the user. In one example, the user is presentedwith sensual stimuli that are known to predict certain emotions, such asimages, videos, and/or sounds that are known to elicit an emotionalresponse. In another example, the user is presented with media clipswhich he/she views and after each one reports the elicited emotions(e.g., positive, negative, or neutral), or is asked to provide values ina dimensional space, for example in the Arousal/Valence dimensions.Optionally, users may use systems that aid emotional state annotation,for example, a system that describes various emotional states usingcartoon images. In yet another example, the user may have the option tocreate training samples, for instance, by indicating that what he/shejust saw gave a good or bad feeling. Alternatively, the user may beasked to imagine scenarios in which certain emotions are felt, and theuser measurements at that time may be used as training sample.

In one embodiment, a pre-trained model for predicting the emotionalstate from user channel measurements is used to label the user'semotional state at certain time points. Optionally, the system istrained on data from multiple users.

In one embodiment, a pool of models for predicting the emotional statefrom user channel measurements may be available to label the user'semotional state. Optionally, each model was trained using a singleindividual. In order to accurately label the user's emotional state, amodel belonging to a person similar to the user is selected for thelabeling process. The similarity between people may be determined inseveral ways, for example, by observing similar patterns in the valuesof their user measurement channels and/or token instances to which theywere exposed, by observing similar demographic and/or educationalcharacteristics, and/or by semantic analysis of speech, text, and/orvideo content created by the people determine similar attitudes and/orworld views.

In one embodiment, one or more methods are used to label an initial setof training points with the user's emotional state. These labeledpoints, in turn, are used to train the user's model for predicting theemotional state. Following that, several rounds of bootstrapping mayensue, in which the user's model is used to label additional points,which are then used to retrain the user's model. With each iteration,the user's model may better bit the training data. Optionally, themodel's performance is tested on an independent test set, which waslabeled using a different model (for example trained on another portionof the data set), in order to prevent over-fitting. Optionally, othersemi-supervised training methods may be used to create the model forpredicting a user's emotional state.

EMBODIMENTS

In one embodiment, a system configured to estimate a response of a userto a token instance of interest, comprising: a processor configured toreceive a background token instance to which the user was exposed, andto predict a response due to exposure to the background token instance;and a decomposer configured to receive a measured response of the userdue to simultaneous exposure to both the background token instance andthe token instance of interest, and to estimate response of the user tothe token instance of interest based on the difference between thepredicted response and the measured response. Optionally, the processoris further configured to receive a baseline value for response of theuser, and to utilize the baseline value to calculate the predictedresponse. Optionally, the predicted response due to exposure to thebackground token instances is a response of the user due to exposure tothe background token instances.

In one embodiment, a method for estimating a response of a user to atoken instance of interest, comprising: receiving token instancescomprising a background token instance to which the user is exposed;predicting response due to exposure to the background token instance;receiving a measured response of the user due to exposure to tokeninstances comprising both the background token instance and the tokeninstance of interest; and estimating response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest based on difference between the predicted responseand the measured response. Optionally, the token instance of interest isa token instance for which measured attention level of the user ishighest. Optionally, the token instance of interest is a token instancefor which predicted attention level is the highest. Optionally, thereare multiple background token instances, at least some of the backgroundtoken instances have overlapping instantiation periods, and thepredicting the response to the background token instances utilizes amachine learning-based predictor for the response of the user.Optionally, the machine learning-based predictor is trained on datacollected over a long period, in which the user was in differentsituations. Optionally, the machine learning-based predictor is trainedon samples comprising data of previous instantiations of token instancesin order to create a habituation compensating machine learning-basedpredictor for response of the user due to exposure of the user to thebackground token instances. Optionally, the method also includes a stepinvolving receiving a baseline value for response of the user, andutilizing the baseline value for the predicting the response due toexposure to the background token instance. Optionally, the predictedresponse due to exposure to the background token instance is calculatedby selecting a machine learning-based predictor for response of the userappropriate to a situation the user is in from among at least twomachine learning-based predictors for responses of the user; whereineach machine learning-based predictor was trained on data collected overperiods of time in which the user was in a situation belonging to adistinct set of situations specific to that machine learning-basedpredictor. Optionally, the estimated response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest is given in terms of an emotional response of theuser. Optionally, the estimated response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest is given in terms of a value of a measurementchannel of the user. Optionally, the predicted response due to exposureto the background token instances is a response of the user due toexposure to the background token instances. Optionally, the backgroundtoken instances do not include the token instance of interest.

In one embodiment, a system configured to estimate a response of a userto a token instance of interest, comprising: a processor configured toreceive a measured response of the user due to exposure to tokeninstances comprising a background token instance and the token instanceof interest, and to receive a predicted response due to exposure to thebackground token instance; and the processor is further configured toestimate the response of the user to the token instance of interestbased on the difference between the predicted response and the measuredresponse. Optionally, the predicted response is calculated using amachine learning-based predictor for the response of the user.Optionally, the background token instance and the token instance ofinterest have overlapping instantiation periods. Optionally, thepredicted response due to exposure to the background token instance is aresponse of the user due to exposure to the background token instance.

In one embodiment, a method for estimating a response of a user to atoken instance of interest, comprising: receiving a measured response ofthe user due to exposure to token instances comprising a backgroundtoken instance and the token instance of interest; receiving a predictedresponse due to exposure to the background token instance; andestimating the response of the user to the token instance of interestbased on different between the predicted response and the measuredresponse. Optionally, the predicted response is calculated using amachine learning-based predictor for the response of the user.Optionally, the background token instance and the token instance ofinterest have overlapping instantiation periods. Optionally, thepredicted response due to exposure to the background token instance is aresponse of the user due to exposure to the background token instance.

In one embodiment, a system configured to estimate a response of a userto a token instance of interest, comprising: a token instance removerconfigured to receive a temporal window of token instances and attentionlevel of the user in at least one of the token instances belonging tothe window; the token instance remover is further configured to utilizethe attention level to select a token instance of interest from amongthe token instances belonging to the window, and remove the tokeninstance of interest from the temporal window of token instances; apredictor of user response configured to receive the temporal window oftoken instances from which the token instance of interest was removedand predict a response to being exposed to the temporal window of tokeninstances without the token instance of interest; and a decomposerconfigured to receive a measured response of the user due to exposure tothe temporal window of token instances, and to estimate response of theuser to the token instance of interest based on the difference betweenthe predicted response and the measured response. Optionally, the tokeninstance of interest is a token instance for which measured attentionlevel of the user is highest. Optionally, the token instance of interestis a token instance for which predicted attention level is the highest.Optionally, the predicting the response to the temporal window of tokeninstances without the token of interest utilizes a machinelearning-based predictor for the response of the user. Optionally, themachine learning-based predictor is trained on data collected over along period, in which the user was in different situations. Optionally,the machine learning-based predictor is trained on samples comprisingdata of previous instantiations of token instances in order to create ahabituation compensating machine learning-based predictor for responseof the user due to exposure of the user to the background tokeninstances. Optionally, the estimated response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest is given in terms of an emotional response of theuser. Optionally, the estimated response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest is given in terms of a value of a measurementchannel of the user. Optionally, the predicted response due to exposureto the temporal window of token instances without the token of interestis a response of the user due to exposure to the temporal window oftoken instances without the token of interest. Optionally, the attentionlevels are derived from a measurement channel of the user. Optionally,the attention levels are predicted based on the token instances.

In one embodiment, a method for estimating a response of a user to atoken instance of interest, comprising: receiving a temporal window oftoken instances comprising a plurality of token instances to which theuser is exposed, wherein at least two of the token instances haveoverlapping instantiation periods; receiving a measured response of theuser due to the exposure of the user to the temporal window of tokeninstances; receiving attention level of the user in at least one of thetoken instances; using the attention level for selecting the tokeninstance of interest from among the token instances, wherein less than athird of the token instances are considered to be of interest to theuser; removing the token instance of interest from the temporal windowof token instances; predicting response of the user to being exposed tothe temporal window of token instances from which the token instance ofinterest was removed; and estimating response of the user to the tokeninstance of interest from the difference between the predicted responseand the measured response. Optionally, the response of the user to thetoken instance of interest is expressed as an affective response.Optionally, the response of the user to the token instance of interestis expressed with values of user measurement channels of the user.Optionally, the attention levels of the user in at least some of thetoken instances are derived from a measurement channel of the user.Optionally, the attention levels of the user in at least some of thetoken instances are predicted based on token instances. Optionally, thepredicting the response due to exposure to the temporal window of tokeninstances comprises predicting the response of the user due to exposureof the user to the token instances.

In one embodiment, a method for estimating a response of a user to aspecific token instance in a variant of a repetitive scene, comprising:receiving measurements of responses taken at multiple exposures tovariants of the repetitive scene; receiving another measurement ofresponse of the user taken while the user is exposed to another variantof the repetitive scene that further includes the specific tokeninstance; and estimating the response of the user to the specific tokeninstance based on difference between the another measurement and arepresentation of the measurements. Optionally, variants of scenes arerepresented by token instances, and two variants are considered variantsof a repetitive scene if at least 50% of their token instances areessentially the same. Optionally, two variants are considered variantsof a repetitive scene if there is a probability of at least 20% that anordinary user exposed to the two variants reports that the two arevariants of a repetitive scene. Optionally, two variants are consideredvariants of a repetitive scene if there is a probability of at least 80%that an ordinary user exposed to the two variants reports that the twoare variants of a repetitive scene. Optionally, two variants areconsidered variants of a repetitive scene if low-level features derivedfrom the two variants are similar. Optionally, the other variant alsoincludes a token instance having an overlapping instantiation periodwith the specific token instance. Optionally, the representation of themeasurements is essentially an average of the measurements of theresponses taken at multiple exposures to the variants of the repetitivescene. Optionally, the representation of the measurements is calculatedbased on the measurements of responses utilizing a predefined formula.Optionally, the method also includes a step involving storing thevariants of the repetitive scene as temporal windows of token instances,and training a prediction model for response of the user to variants ofthe repetitive scene using training data comprising the stored temporalwindows of token instances and their corresponding responses.Optionally, the representation of the measurements is obtained byproviding the prediction model with temporal windows of token instancescorresponding to the variants of the repetitive scene. Optionally, thespecific token instance included in the variant of the repetitive scenedoes not significantly alter the essence of the repetitive scenecompared to the other variants of the repetitive scene that do notinclude the specific token instance. Optionally, the other measurementis derived from multiple measurements of response of the user takenwhile the user was exposed to variants of the repetitive scene thatinclude the specific token instance. Optionally, the repetitive scene isgenerated by a computer game, and the specific token instance includedin the repetitive scene does not significantly alter the game's plotcompared to the other variants of the repetitive scene that do notinclude the specific token instance. Optionally, the measurements ofresponses taken at multiple exposures to variants of the repetitivescene are measurements of responses of the user taken at multipleexposures of the user to variants of the repetitive scene. Optionally,most of the measurements of responses taken at multiple exposures tovariants of the repetitive scene are measurements of responses of otherusers.

In one embodiment, a device for estimating a response of a user to aspecific token instance in a repetitive scene includes the following: amemory configured to receive measurements of responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene. The memory is alsoconfigured to receive, from a measuring device, another measurement ofresponse of the user taken while the user is exposed to another variantof the repetitive scene that further includes the specific tokeninstance. A processor is configured to estimate the response of the userto the specific token instance based on difference between the othermeasurement and a representation of the measurements. Optionally,variants of scenes are represented by token instances, and two variantsare considered variants of a repetitive scene if at least 50% of theirtoken instances are essentially the same. Optionally, two variants areconsidered variants of a repetitive scene if there is a probability ofat least 20% that an ordinary user exposed to the two variants reportsthat the two are variants of a repetitive scene. Optionally, twovariants are considered variants of a repetitive scene if there is aprobability of at least 80% that an ordinary user exposed to the twovariants reports that the two are variants of a repetitive scene.Optionally, two variants are considered variants of a repetitive sceneif low-level features derived from the two variants are similar.Optionally, the other variant also includes a token instance having anoverlapping instantiation period with the specific token instance.Optionally, the representation of the measurements is essentially anaverage of the measurements of the responses taken at multiple exposuresto variants of the repetitive scene. Optionally, the representation ofthe measurements is calculated based on the measurements of responsesutilizing a predefined formula. Optionally, the memory is alsoconfigured to store the variants of the repetitive scene as temporalwindows of token instances, and a second processor is configured totrain a prediction model for response of the user to variants of therepetitive scene using training data comprising the stored temporalwindows of token instances and their corresponding responses.Optionally, the processor is configured to obtain the representation ofthe measurements by providing the prediction model with a temporalwindow of token instances corresponding to the other variant of therepetitive scene, which does not include the specific token instance.Optionally, having the specific token instance included in therepetitive scene does not significantly alter the essence of therepetitive scene compared to variants of the repetitive scene that donot include the specific token instance. Optionally, the measuringdevice is configured to derive the other measurement from multiplemeasurements of response of the user taken while the user was exposed tovariants of the repetitive scene that include the specific tokeninstance. Optionally, further comprising a computer game configured togenerate the repetitive scene, and the specific token instance does notsignificantly alter the plot of the game compared to other variants ofthe repetitive scene that do not include the specific token instance.Optionally, the measurements of responses taken at multiple exposures tovariants of the repetitive scene are measurements of responses of theuser taken by the measuring device. Optionally, most of the measurementsof responses taken at multiple exposures to variants of the repetitivescene are measurements of responses of other users.

In one embodiment, a method for estimating a response of a user to afirst token instance in a repetitive scene, includes the followingsteps: receiving measurements of responses taken at multiple exposuresto variants of a repetitive scene comprising the first token instanceand a second token instance; receiving another measurement of responseof the user taken while the user is exposed to another variant of therepetitive scene that lacks the first token instance that appeared inthe repetitive scenes corresponding to the measurements; and estimatingthe response of the user to the first token instance based on differencebetween representation of the measurements and the another measurement.Optionally, variants of scenes are represented by token instances, andtwo variants are considered variants of a repetitive scene if at least50% of their token instances are essentially the same. Optionally, twovariants are considered variants of a repetitive scene if there is aprobability of at least 20% that an ordinary user exposed to the twovariants reports that the two are variants of a repetitive scene.Optionally, two variants are considered variants of a repetitive sceneif there is a probability of at least 80% that an ordinary user exposedto the two variants reports that the two are variants of a repetitivescene. Optionally, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if low-level features derived from the two variants are similar.Optionally, the first token instance and the second token instance haveoverlapping instantiations periods. Optionally, the removal of the firsttoken instance does not significantly alter the essence of therepetitive scene compared to variants of the repetitive scene thatinclude the first token instance. Optionally, the measurements ofresponses taken at multiple exposures to variants of the repetitivescene are measurements of responses of the user taken at multipleexposures of the user to variants of the repetitive scene. Optionally,most of the measurements of responses taken at multiple exposures tovariants of the repetitive scene are measurements of responses of otherusers. Optionally, the representation of the measurements is essentiallyan average of the measurements of the responses taken at multipleexposures to variants of the repetitive scene. Optionally, therepresentation of the measurements is calculated based on themeasurements of responses utilizing a predefined formula.

In one embodiment, a system configured to estimate a response of a userto a first token instance in a repetitive scene, includes the following:a memory configured to receive measurements of responses taken atmultiple exposures to variants of a repetitive scene comprising thefirst token instance and a second token instance. The memory is alsoconfigured to receive, from a measuring device, another measurement ofresponse of the user taken while the user is exposed to another variantof the repetitive scene that lacks the first token instance thatappeared in the repetitive scenes corresponding to the measurements. Thesystem also includes a processor configured to estimate the response ofthe user to the first token instance based on difference betweenrepresentation of the measurements and the other measurement.Optionally, variants of scenes are represented by token instances, andtwo variants are considered variants of a repetitive scene if at least50% of their token instances are essentially the same. Optionally, twovariants are considered variants of a repetitive scene if there is aprobability of at least 20% that an ordinary user exposed to the twovariants reports that the two are variants of a repetitive scene.Optionally, two variants are considered variants of a repetitive sceneif there is a probability of at least 80% that an ordinary user exposedto the two variants reports that the two are variants of a repetitivescene. Optionally, two variants are considered variants of a repetitivescene if low-level features derived from the two variants are similar.Optionally, the removal of the first token instance does notsignificantly alter the essence of the repetitive scene compared tovariants of the repetitive scene that include the first token instance.Optionally, the measurements of responses taken at multiple exposures tovariants of the repetitive scene are measurements of responses of theuser taken at multiple exposures of the user to variants of therepetitive scene. Optionally, most of the measurements of responsestaken at multiple exposures to variants of the repetitive scene aremeasurements of responses of other users. Optionally, the representationof the measurements is essentially an average of the measurements of theresponses taken at multiple exposures to variants of the repetitivescene. Optionally, the representation of the measurements is calculatedbased on the measurements of responses utilizing a predefined formula.

While the above embodiments described in the general context of programcomponents that execute in conjunction with an application program thatruns on an operating system on a computer, which may be a personalcomputer, those skilled in the art will recognize that aspects may alsobe implemented in combination with other program components. Programcomponents may include routines, programs, modules, data structures, andother types of structures that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. Moreover, the embodiments may bepracticed with other computer system configurations, including hand-helddevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and comparablecomputing devices. The embodiments may also be practiced in adistributed computing environment where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program components may be locatedin both local and remote memory storage devices.

Embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented process, acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computerprogram product or computer readable media. The computer program productmay be a computer storage medium readable by a computer system andencoding a computer program that comprises instructions for causing acomputer or computing system to perform example processes. Thecomputer-readable storage medium can for example be implemented via oneor more of a volatile computer memory, a non-volatile memory, a harddrive, a flash drive, a disk, a compact disk, and/or comparable media.

Throughout this specification, references are made to services. Aservice as used herein describes any networked/on line applications thatmay receive a user's personal information as part of its regularoperations and process/store/forward that information. Such applicationsmay be executed on a single computing device, on multiple computingdevices in a distributed manner, and so on. Embodiments may also beimplemented in a hosted service executed over a plurality of servers orcomparable systems. The term “server” generally refers to a computingdevice executing one or more software programs typically in a networkedenvironment. However, a server may also be implemented as a virtualserver (software programs) executed on one or more computing devicesviewed as a server on the network. Moreover, embodiments are not limitedto personal data. Systems for handling preferences and policies may beimplemented in systems for right management and/or usage control usingthe principles described above.

Herein, a predetermined value, such as a predetermined confidence levelor a predetermined threshold, is a fixed value and/or a value determinedany time before performing a calculation that compares its result withthe predetermined value. A value is also considered a predeterminedvalue when the logic used to determine a threshold is known before startcalculating the threshold.

In this description, references to “one embodiment” mean that thefeature being referred to may be included in at least one embodiment ofthe invention. Moreover, separate references to “one embodiment” or“some embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to thesame embodiment.

The embodiments of the invention may include any variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the features of the embodiments described herein.Although some embodiments may depict serial operations, the embodimentsmay perform certain operations in parallel and/or in different ordersfrom those depicted. Moreover, the use of repeated reference numeralsand/or letters in the text and/or drawings is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Theembodiments are not limited in their applications to the details of theorder or sequence of steps of operation of methods, or to details ofimplementation of devices, set in the description, drawings, orexamples. Moreover, individual blocks illustrated in the figures may befunctional in nature and do not necessarily correspond to discretehardware elements.

While the methods disclosed herein have been described and shown withreference to particular steps performed in a particular order, it isunderstood that these steps may be combined, sub-divided, or reorderedto form an equivalent method without departing from the teachings of theembodiments. Accordingly, unless specifically indicated herein, theorder and grouping of the steps is not a limitation of the embodiments.Furthermore, methods and mechanisms of the embodiments will sometimes bedescribed in singular form for clarity. However, some embodiments mayinclude multiple iterations of a method or multiple instantiations of amechanism unless noted otherwise. For example, when an interface isdisclosed in one embodiment, the scope of the embodiment is intended toalso cover the use of multiple interfaces. Certain features of theembodiments, which may have been, for clarity, described in the contextof separate embodiments, may also be provided in various combinations ina single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the embodiments,which may have been, for brevity, described in the context of a singleembodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitablesub-combination. Embodiments described in conjunction with specificexamples are presented by way of example, and not limitation. Moreover,it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations willbe apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the embodiments. Accordingly, it isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to utilize attention levelsreceived from an external source to estimate affective response to atoken instance of interest, comprising: a memory configured to store: atotal affective response of a user to token instances to which the userwas exposed, and representations of first and second attention levels inrespective first and second token instances from among the tokeninstances; wherein the first and second attention levels are receivedfrom an external source and are not derived from values of a usermeasurement channel of the user; wherein the first and second tokeninstances have overlapping instantiation periods; and wherein the firstattention level is greater than the second attention level; a processorconfigured to select, based on the representations of the first andsecond attention levels, the first token instance as the token instanceof interest; and the processor is further configured to estimate theaffective response to the token instance of interest from the totalaffective response.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the totalaffective response is based, at least in part, on a value of a usermeasurement channel of the user.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst and second attention levels are derived from answers to questions,provided by one or more users, which indicate areas of interest of theuser.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second attentionlevels are generated utilizing semantic analysis of communications ofthe user.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the communications compriseat least one of: voice conversations, video conversations, instantmessages, emails, posts to social media, search queries, and browsinghistory.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and secondattention levels are received from a third party comprising at least oneof: a social networking site and an online retailer.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the total affective response is expressed as anemotional response.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the totalaffective response is expressed as a value of a user measurement channelof the user.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the total affectiveresponse is proportional to the difference between affective responsesof the user before and after the user was exposed to the tokeninstances.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is furtherconfigured to store a baseline value for affective response of the user,and the processor is further configured to calculate the total affectiveresponse with respect to the baseline value; whereby the baseline valuerepresents a usual affective response of the user, as computed frommultiple values acquired over a period of at least a few hours.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein more than 50% of the total affective responseis attributed to the affective response to the token instance ofinterest.
 12. A method for utilizing attention levels received from anexternal source to estimate affective response to a token instance ofinterest, comprising: receiving a total affective response of a user totoken instances to which the user was exposed; wherein the tokeninstances comprise first and second token instances that haveoverlapping instantiation periods; receiving representations of firstand second attention levels in the first and second token instances,respectively; wherein the first and second attention levels are receivedfrom an external source and are not derived from values of a usermeasurement channel of the user; and wherein the first attention levelis greater than the second attention level; selecting, based on therepresentations of the first and second attention levels, the firsttoken instance as the token instance of interest; and estimating theaffective response to the token instance of interest from the totalaffective response.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprisingderiving the first and second attention levels from answers toquestions, provided by one or more users, which indicate areas ofinterest of the user.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprisingutilizing semantic analysis of communications of the user in order togenerate the first and second attention levels.
 15. The method of claim12, further comprising receiving the first and second attention levelsfrom a third party comprising at least one of: a social networking siteand an online retailer.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprisingreceiving a baseline value for affective response of the user andcalculating the total affective response with respect to the baselinevalue; whereby the baseline value represents a usual affective responseof the user, as computed from multiple values acquired over a period ofat least a few hours.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprisingattributing more than 50% of the total affective response to the tokeninstance of interest.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium foruse in a computer to utilize attention levels received from an externalsource to estimate affective response to a token instance of interest;the computer comprises a processor, and the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising: program code for receiving a totalaffective response of a user to token instances to which the user wasexposed; wherein the token instances comprise first and second tokeninstances that have overlapping instantiation periods; program code forreceiving representations of first and second attention levels in thefirst and second token instances, respectively; wherein the first andsecond attention levels are received from an external source and are notderived from values of a user measurement channel of the user; andwherein the first attention level is greater than the second attentionlevel; program code for selecting, based on the representations of thefirst and second attention levels, the first token instance as the tokeninstance of interest; and program code for estimating the affectiveresponse to the token instance of interest from the total affectiveresponse.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18,further comprising program code for utilizing semantic analysis ofcommunications of the user in order to generate the first and secondattention levels.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 18, further comprising program code for receiving the first andsecond attention levels from a third party comprising at least one of: asocial networking site and an online retailer.